14/04/2014 Newsnight Scotland

sake! So I don't think many procedures may changing. But as a

result, things will be looked at, and Robert quite rightly so. --

probably quite rightly so. On Newsnight Scotland tonight, just

100 days until the Commonwealth Games. We now know Red Road won't

explode to launch the games, but what other unpredicted crises might

litter the road ahead? Good evening. This evening the Games

organisers revealed the exact details of the medals, and that's

surely what the Commonwealth Games is really all about. But there are

quite a few other competitions underway. Will the Games beat

history and provide a successfully legacy? Will they beat tradition and

come in under budget? And whatever happens on the tracks and fields,

which politicians, if any, will be able to claim victory, and the

popularity which ought to come with that? Huw Williams reports: this

contains flash photography. Now we know. We will not be seeing

this as part of the opening ceremony, because of safety

concerns. But when you talk about health and safety concerns, is that

just they way of saving face? The frantic round of interviews that

explained why the U-turn took place. We had discussions with police

Scotland. The nature of the opposition would make this not a

commemorative event but a potential protest. That is not what the

opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games is about. Organisers instead

today wanted to mark an important milestone, 100 days to go. Time to

reveal designs for the medals at a ceremony in Kelvingrove Art Gallery.

How about those medals, ladies and gentlemen? Designed by Joomla!,

Jonathan Boyd, they will go to the best of the best. -- designed by

Joomla! -- jeweller. But sceptical voices asking who the real winners

will be. It is claimed that the games will regenerate the East End

of Glasgow. It is a euphemism for gentrification. It is about who

benefits. That is still to be proud of in. Gentrification is associated

with higher rents, house prices, land values, and the displacement of

the poor and working class. That is what we see when we look around at

the legacy of the Commonwealth Games. He claims the sums do not add

up. The budget in 2007 was ?370 million. It is now ?560 million. And

we have yet to see where most expenditure will be, April through

to September. It is already 50% over budget and will go up considerably.

Look at the Olympic games. The initial budget was ?2 billion. It

had up to ?11 billion. Manchester Commonwealth Games were on hand to

20% over budget. In Delhi, ten times over budget. Glasgow will not go

over budget on that scale but it will go up, for sure. And he says

that promises about new homes for the East End also look dubious.

The figure has been reduced to 800 homes from 1400. Only 300 for social

rent. We estimate that the population of Dalmarnock is

approximately about 3000 homes beforehand, subject for faced

demolition. I don't say how it is possible that the local population

could be repopulated into the games Village. The legacy will be for

private homes, construction, not for the people who live in the East End.

Supporters of the games of course insist that they will be the biggest

sporting and cultural event ever seen in Scotland.

A short while ago the newly promoted Cabinet Secretary for Sport came

into the studio. I asked Shona Robison if it had been a mistake to

back the initial plan for the Red Road flats to feature in the

Commonwealth Games opening ceremony: .

It was the wrong decision for the right reasons. We thought it would

be good to tell a story about Glasgow's regeneration. About the

modern Glasgow emerging through the demolition of Red Road. But it

became apparent that the public did not back the decision, there was

great disquiet. What we want more than anything is the games as a

unifying force for Glasgow and Scotland. We do not want to divide

opinion and as it became clear that public opinion was not on the side

of this idea, changes had to be made that was in security advice came in

it was a game changer as well. Now the right decision has been made by

the organisers to not include that as part of the opening ceremony and

focus on delivering a fantastic games with an hundred days to go.

And a fantastic games it will be. What still needs what still needs to

be done? Hand and will be handed over next month. The athletic

Stadium. A fantastic transformation from football to athletics, looking

absolutely fantastic. Transport plans are coming to fruition. The

last mile is making sure everything is as it needs to be for the opening

ceremony. Let's talk about the legacy in the East End of Glasgow.

We heard about that in our film. Is the legacy really just about the

host city rather than everywhere else? We have been very clear that

legacy is about Glasgow and the rest of Scotland. That is really

important. We have over the national legacy programmes and plans working

at the moment. -- over 50. Refurbishing sports facilities,

education programmes, schools involved, learning about the

Commonwealth, making connections, it is Glasgow and Scotland's games and

the legacy should be for both. How long will the legacy last in terms

of funding? Most of it will carry on. The active places fund is only

halfway through, it will carry beyond the games. We are looking at

ten years. At the end of that we will be able to assess the impact of

legacy. It does not happen overnight. You cannot turn around

the fitness and health of the nation overnight. But getting people active

more often, that is working, it will just take time to come through. The

direct benefits to the East End of Glasgow are visibly taking place.

The athletes village, the regeneration of East End, now

unrecognisable. Huge changes for local people. But as we heard they

are, gentrified. Talking about only 300 social homes. We 3000 were

demolished. Will poorer families be pushed out of the East End? The

athletes village will have 700 homes, 400 for social housing will

stop we hope the rest of the land will be developed over time. But

we're just come through a recession. That has an impact in terms of

house-building. Will there be a like-for-like replacement to the

3000 houses demolished? We will deliver 400 new homes. If you ask

local people, there have been surveys carried out, they show huge

support for the games. It is not as housing. A community centre is being

built. It will house local services. That is a tangible legacy. The

station has been refurbished. As Mrs a moving out. Young people getting

apprenticeships. All of us have to be taken into account when we're

measuring legacy. Will the price tag go up? The budget is ?575 million

which includes the security budget. That is the budget, it is on

time... Do you need any more? No, we are where we need to be. The

organisers run a tight ship. They have not put a foot wrong. The Red

Road issue has been difficult over the last couple of weeks but they

have done a good job. As the Commonwealth Games Federation said a

week ago, these are set to be the Games ever. What difference will it

make day today? I think it is good for sport and we have had good

feedback from the sporting world, saying they are pleased that sport

will have a direct voice around the Cabinet table. I have additional

responsibilities looking at pensioners' writes. We are taking

forward our consultation on improving the position of women on

Ord, so there is a big job to be done there. The Games is the main

focus over the next couple of months as you appreciate, but there are

many other important parts of my job which I'm looking forward to taking

forward. I'm joined now from Edinburgh by Professor Joe

Goldblatt, an expert in planned events. In Oxford is Dr Allison

Stewart, who researches some of the problems facing Olympic and

Commonwealth Games. And here in the studio is Steven Purcell, who was

leader of Glasgow Council when the city won the race to hold the Games.

Good evening. Steven Purcell. Was there an misjudgement on the part of

people organising the Games when they talked about the demolition of

those flats? I think it was a sincere decision and, knowing the

people involved, I have no doubt about their sensitivity. The

Glaswegians are very proud of their history, their social history. There

is a sensitivity around the demolition programme across the

city, not least around the red Road flats, and Games organisers should

be congratulated for recognising this. Professor Joe Goldblatt, is it

inevitable when you are organising something like this that the

organisers will stumble one way or the other? Let's remember one thing.

This is the Commonwealth Games. The athletic events are the most

important part of this ceremony. We now need to shift the focus away

from the ceremony back towards the athletes. The ceremony will be

important because we are told it will not only be about athleticism

but about projecting Glasgow to the world. Of course it is important for

that reason but it also sets the tone for the Games. It is

yesterday's news now and the organisers should be congratulated

for moving things on. We were always determined that class goat thinks

about the legacy and what we do after the Games has left the city.

Professor Joe Goldblatt, what do you think, in this context, what should

legacy be? What should it mean? I actually agree with your guest about

how important it is to generate long-term employment. I have many

students who are have been employed and are receiving voluntary

opportunities, so all of these things are important in the short

term. The long-term employment should happen naturally. There is

the issue of facility usage, and the big issue of health, ambition and

hope for the future citizens of Glasgow. Do you recognise the issues

that were raised in our fill? There may not be enough social housing for

the people that live in that area. -- film. The people of Glasgow may

not call their home "home" . The development of the village after the

Games, there was a lot of thought put into the right balance and

subsequently, there was a great deal of effort put into surveying the

local people in the East End is, and I have no doubt that those

organising the Games, a balance will be struck. 3000 homes have been

abolished, those were the figures we heard earlier. The balance is out of

kilter. If you compare the Games village with those 3000 homes in

Dalmarnock, there has been a remarkable transformation in the

East End of the city. 3000 homes have been demolished, 3000 people

are not on the street, but many are waiting for the opportunity for a

new home. Many families have children in the area who have

received apprenticeships and employment because of the Games. The

wider regeneration of the area that has happened, away from the East

End, the chance for Glasgow is to build on this legacy and make sure

the Games are the springboard to the next phase of transformation in the

city, and it is actually very exciting, and that is why we do not

need distractions. Joe, what about Scotland as a whole? We have been

told that this is Scotland's Games and not just Glasgow's. But surely

the closer you are to where it happens, the more benefits you will

see? There is a tradition where cities are known as Olympic cities

or Commonwealth Games cities, but there is a ripple effect that is

felt for many miles beyond the originating destination, in terms of

tourism, in terms of employment, and also in terms of the public

ambition, as the hopes and dreams of a nation rise through a major events

such as this. That is an important event in terms of managing

hyperbole. We talk about being the biggest and the best, but in this

context we have to be careful we do not oversell what is happening. I

cannot remember one Olympic Games or Commonwealth Games where the

sanctioning body has not said that this will be the best games ever.

That is the challenge to the host city and nation. It is impossible to

compare apples, but I will say this. Compared to New Delhi, I would

give the organising committee in Glasgow a gold star! I wonder what

an accolade that is considering the problems we had in New Delhi. We

cannot understate the opportunity of these Games. This is the biggest

cultural and sporting events that not just our city but our country

could pose. I know from being in Melbourne in 2006, and visiting

Manchester White recently, the opportunity and confident it can

bring to the city, the springboard... It is not right to

compare it to New Delhi but Manchester and Melbourne very

similar. I do not think politicians are going to compare the way they

are changing. OK, thank you for that. Let me apologise to Allison

Stewart because we were not able to speak to her because of technical

difficulties. Philip Hammond says that any possibility of a speedy

movement of Trident is wrong. The police are warning people that they

are risking their lives by taking recreational drugs. That's all from

me tonight. I'll be back in the morning with Good Morning Scotland

on Radio Scotland at six o'clock. Good night.