Olympic football games in both the men’s and women’s tournaments will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, at Hampden Park, the national football stadium, from July 25, to August 3, 2012.
As it gears up for the event, the city is also celebrating 2012 as the Year of Creative Scotland, and is welcoming the arrival of its international visitors with musicians, including American piper, Megan Canning, and French drummer, Iona Sicard-Cras from Piping Live, who along with other musicians, will be playing as part of the world’s biggest week of piping, from August 6 to 12, 2012.
Scott Taylor, the chief executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said, ‘The Olympic Games is the biggest sporting event on the planet and, as the host of 8 Olympic football matches, Glasgow is set to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of a global audience.
It will be incredible for Glasgow to showcase the best young football stars of tomorrow and the buzz surrounding the Olympic presence in the city is sure to contribute to the excitement building for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
In addition to being internationally renowned as one of the top 10 sporting cities in the world, Glasgow is also firmly established as one of Europe’s most exciting destinations. The city has so much to offer tourists and locals alike, from its wealth of cultural attractions and year-round programme of events and festivals, to its world-class architecture and fantastic shopping.’
Hampden Park’s seating capacity for the Olympic football matches has been cut, along with other football venues in the UK, due to poorer than expected ticket sales.