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Scotland has for the most part been glowing with Games fever this week. Yes, it’s disrupted the transport system, some athletes have been detained and arrested and Usain Bolt may or may not have been a little unkind about the whole hubbub but that hasn’t seemed to wipe the rose-tint from the nation’s spectacles just yet. As if to top it all, politicians from both sides of the Border have spent the week attending various sporting events and managed not to dwell too long on the referendum-that-shall-not-be-mentioned-in-the-same-breath-as-the Games. With the much-trailed Salmond-Darling debate scheduled to take place on Tuesday, I’m keen to see this last as long as possible.
The Games was not devoid of political tie-ins though as the Scottish Government launched the www.onescotland.org website to promote equality, building wonderfully on the momentum created by last week’s opening ceremony. A survey was also released alongside the website which showed that 86% of Scots were proud of the format which integrated the para-sports events throughout the Commonwealth Games. A similar number also believed more work needed to be done to ensure equality. This is a statistic which – included in anything other than a new initiative to do just that – would have read like a criticism. Smart move.
‘Legacy’ usually takes the gold in the buzzword competition at these events but this has lapsed during Games week while Ministers focused on messages of congratulations at the record-breaking performance of Team Scotland. While they were doing so, the latest ISD Scotland publication confirmed that, between April 2011 and March 2014, more than 16,820 healthy weight interventions were carried out on children in Scotland. Opposition parties were quick to point out the scale of the country’s obesity problem, with Jim Hume particularly highlighting the need for the government to “secure a legacy which will encourage more families and children to lead healthy lives from the get-go.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson provided a short comment on the announcement but the business motion for the return of Parliament next week suggests the Government was listening: plenary business includes a Ministerial Statement on the Games on Tuesday and a debate on ‘The Legacy of the Glasgow 2014 XX Commonwealth Games in Scotland, Humanity, Equality and Destiny’ on Thursday. When you add into the mix that Wednesday includes the second of the newly-introduced Portfolio Questions on Commonwealth Games, Sport & Equalities – and the news that Shona Robison will give evidence alongside Games’ organisers to Health & Sport on Tuesday 12th August – it becomes clear that Glasgow 2014 will remain high on the political agenda long after the final verse of ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ rings through Hampden on Sunday evening.