Earlier commemorative sections of the iconic turf were presented to lucky members of the Tartan Army by Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive David Grevemberg.

Hampden Park will take centre stage as the venue where the Commonwealth’s elite track and field athletes will go head-to-head for gold and glory in front of sell-out crowds.

It will be a Hampden like no one has seen before. As part of its temporary transformation, the stadium will be given a dramatic new look to gain the width and length required for an IAAF-approved athletics track.

An innovative technical solution will see the playing surface raised by more than 6ft on a grid of structural steel stilts. This will be the first time this technology has been used on this scale to deliver a world-class athletics event.

For Games-time the arena will be transformed into a 44,000-seater stadium, before returning Hampden to its current 52,000 capacity following the end of the Games.

Work to reconfigure the stadium is expected to be finished by mid-May 2014 with the venue expected to play host to the 2014 Scottish Schools Athletics Championships in June.

During Games time, Hampden will also feature the branding of Glasgow 2014’s Official Presenting Partner of Athletics, Virgin Media.

Hampden Park has already benefitted from its link to the Games, with the Organising Committee having funded a £3million permanent extension to the stadium’s North Stand including new and improved spectator facilities. This work was completed in time for last season’s Scottish Cup final in May.

It complements wider legacy improvements to the Hampden Campus, which have also seen the construction of a new pavilion for Queens Park FC at Lesser Hampden.

David Grevemberg, Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014 said: “Today marks another exciting milestone in our journey to the Games with the start of the innovative and exciting transformation of Hampden, Scotland’s National Stadium.

“Hampden is already known the world-over as the home of Scottish football and we are thrilled that our exciting, innovative and sustainable plans will temporarily transform one of the world’s great football stadiums into a fantastic athletics competition venue for the elite athletes of the Commonwealth.

“The stadium – and the packed crowds inside it – will undoubtedly create a fantastic atmosphere for these great Commonwealth athletes and we look forward to welcoming them to the heart of Hampden, the heart of Glasgow and Scotland and the heart of the Games.”

A total of 50,811 people have come forward offering their services – more than the number who applied for both the Melbourne 2006 and Manchester 2002 Games.

Organisers said 61% of applicants were female and people applied from across the world.

The applicants will be whittled down to the 15,000 needed.

The deadline for applications was midnight on Thursday.

Early indications show applications from every local authority in Scotland, as well as across the UK and internationally.

Glasgow 2014 is one of the first major sporting events to allow 16-year-olds to apply and figures show that 18% of applicants were aged between 16 and 18.

A total of 38% were under the age of 25.

David Grevemberg, Glasgow 2014 chief executive, said: “We are absolutely delighted with the numbers. We have received a record number of applicants and all those who have applied are already helping Glasgow 2014 make history.

“Scots are famed for being generous with their time and have a real heritage of volunteering and it’s fantastic to see them, along with people from across the UK and internationally, come forward in such numbers to support their Games.”

‘Enthusiastic people’

Valerie Mitchell, head of Games workforce at Glasgow 2014, said: “We are thrilled with the level of interest and to have such a great mix of people apply to be part of the Games. We are also really over the moon at the response from young people.”

Sport Minister Shona Robison said: “It is fantastic that so many people, from all over the UK and beyond, want to be at the heart of the Commonwealth Games, the biggest sporting and cultural event ever seen in Scotland.”

She added: “For those who need it, the £500,000 Legacy 2014 Volunteer Support Programme can help people in Scotland who face practical or financial barriers to making their volunteering dreams a reality, such as carers, people with a disability or people with additional childcare needs.”

Councillor Archie Graham, executive member for the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow City Council, said: “To have the highest ever number of applications to volunteer shows how enthusiastic people are about the Games and their desire to be part of this unforgettable event for our city and country.”

Interviews will be held between April and December.

By BBC News

Holding separate events for able-bodied and disabled athletes has become a more common theme in recent years, as there is now an Asian Para Games that follows the Asian Games and a Parapan American Games that follows the Pan American Games.

But Grevemberg, who served as the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) sports director for eight years before joining Glasgow 2014, suggested that such a move may still be too early for the Commonwealth Games Movement.

“In terms of the Commonwealth as a whole, I think the Paralympic Movement is still a developing concept,” he told insidethegames.

“There are obviously Commonwealth nations that have very strong Parasport programmes in place but the majority do not have that.

“It is still something they are getting to grips with and London 2012 was the first time some of the smaller Commonwealth nations were participating in Paralympic sport on an international level.

“The Paralympics has gone out there and established itself as an independent brand and that works completely.

“But the Commonwealth Games is at a different stage of its development and while a time may come for two separate events, I think a fully integrated approach works best for now.”

However, Grevemberg feels that Paralympic sport will become a far bigger element of the Commonwealth Games going forward.

Glasgow 2014 announced earlier this year that it will host the biggest ever number of Parasport medal events in the history of the Games – with 22 medal competitions set to take place across the five sports of athletics, swimming, track cycling, powerlifting and lawn bowls.

“At Glasgow 2014, it has always been our intention to offer greater opportunities to Para-sport athletes and I’m especially proud that we will offer more events and medal opportunities than any Commonwealth Games in history,” Grevemberg said.

“We saw at London 2012 the huge appetite for Paralympic sport with athletes like Dave Weir receiving huge support and I think you will see the same thing again in Glasgow.

“By having these Parasport events, we are providing the opportunity for it to grow in the Commonwealth Games Movement and I am sure that will continue moving forwards.”

Contact the writer of this story at tom.degun@insidethegames.biz

Courtesy of insidethegames

“For me, as a Paralympian, to even contemplate that idea means I have to be in the very best form I’ve ever been in plus an extra one or two per cent.”

He has won five Paralympics gold medals and 11 world titles in swimming and cycling since beginning his sporting career and was appointed an MBE in 2009.

However, Cundy had to settle for a single bronze in the individual C4 pursuit at the recent Paralympics in London.

It came just a day after he reacted furiously to being disqualified from the 1km time trial after his rear wheel slipped leaving the starting gate.

With no major international events next year in disability sport, Cundy has instead turned his thoughts towards the Commonwealth Games, even though he acknowledges that breaking into England’s team when the selectors already have so many top-class cyclist to choose from may be “unrealistic”.

Fellow cyclist Sarah Storey and archery’s Danielle Brown became the first disabled athletes to represent England at the Commonwealth games when they competed in Delhi in 2010.

“When you’ve had people like Oscar Pistorius and Sarah Storey make international, elite, able-bodied events, it almost seems like anybody can do it,” said Cundy.

“But not just anybody makes a Commonwealth Games, or an Olympic team, or a World Championships team.

“This is the biggest thing I’m ever going to aim for, but I’m going to enjoy the process of the hard work and dedication that’s going to go into it.

“If I don’t achieve it, I’m still going to move para-cycling on, purely in terms of the training I’m going to do to to try and be as fast as possible.”

bbc