The Scottish Government

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

Listen

Olympic organiser on Scotland's side

27/03/2002

One of the driving forces behind the hugely successful Millennium Olympics in Sydney is to play a key role in developing a Major Events Strategy for Scotland.

Craig McLatchey, the former Secretary General of the Australian Olympic Committee, is one of four key executives forming the team from Objective Performance Limited (OPL) which has been appointed by the Scottish Executive to support development of the new Strategy.

Announcing the appointment today to co-incide with a tourism debate in Parliament, Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Mike Watson said Scotland had much to gain in developing its potential as a host to major sporting and cultural events.

Mr Watson said:

"It is our aim to secure Scotland's place as one of the foremost events' destinations in the world. To achieve this we must learn from the best, and maximise the benefits of their experience.

"Those involved in the OPL team, not least Craig McLatchey, offer us the best global expertise and a leading-edge consultancy which will enhance the development of our internationally competitive Events Strategy.

"The OPL team have unique experience in the strategic approach to major events and in event marketing. They have worked for many of the world's leading organisations in government-led and commercial projects at global, national and local levels, from the Olympic Games and world championship events to activities which bring benefits and rewards to local tourism and 'cottage' industries.

"As our existing successful events - like the Edinburgh Festivals and the Open golf - prove, major events are important to our tourism industry. They not only provide a boost at the time the event is staged, but also in providing a broader platform before and after from which to promote Scotland as a tourism destination to new audiences.

"Building on our experiences with the Ryder Cup and Euro 2008, we are developing a Major Events Strategy which will be based on three main elements:

• identifying the events that we might bid for in the future
• whether we might build on some of the events that we already stage
• what ideas and proposals there may be which can be developed into new, successful home-grown events

"Once the work is complete, Scotland will be better informed in its approach to major events, and I hope will be well placed as a major player on the internationally-competitive events stage."

Craig McLatchey said:

"We share the Executive's desire to secure Scotland's place as one of the foremost events destinations in the world. We would like to go beyond even that bold declaration of intent. Our primary goal, within the feasibility study we will draw up, is to formulate a National Events Strategy that will establish Scotland as one of the world's most desirable, recognisable and successful destinations."

The development of a Major Events Strategy was first announced in the Working Together for Scotland document in 2000. The Scottish Executive is working with sportscotland, VisitScotland, the Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and local authorities in developing a detailed strategy.

Objective Performance Limited has been appointed to assist the development of this strategy by carrying out a feasibility study that will involve, among other things:

• a review of existing arrangements for attracting new events to Scotland and promoting events already hosted here
• making recommendations to strengthen these arrangements
• recommendations as to events of national and international significance which could form a programme of priority events in Scotland over the next 10 years
• the identification of links with this strategy to the emerging VisitScotland national tourism strategy, to sports development programmes and to the wider cultural strategy
• the identification of a number of events with the potential to bring benefits to Scotland on a regular basis over the medium and long term
• the development of a programme for these events and an indication of the levels of investment necessary to deliver these events

The OPL team for this project is built around the four key executives who were actively involved in a conference held at Murrayfield last September.

They are:

1. Wyn Fanshawe, MD OPL - a specialist consultancy in the development and implementation of national and international strategic marketing partnerships
2. Craig McLatchey, Chief Executive of Olympic Knowledge Services - created in Dec 2001 by the International Olympic Committee
3. Colin Liddell, Director of Liddell Thomson - a Glasgow-based reputation management consultancy with a proven track record in developing and managing pro-active positioning and communications programmes
4. Mick Aitken - MD mjaMatchpoint - advising State and National Bodies in Australia and now worldwide on strategic planning, bidding, managing and evaluating major and international events

A final report will be completed this autumn, and OPL will assist the Executive in planning a major conference soon after involving a wide community of interested parties to present the Executive's proposals.