A key architect of the bid which brought the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow in 2014 has won a major award.
Dame Louise Martin, who competed for Scotland in swimming at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Australia before building an illustrious career in sports administration, received a lifetime achievement award at The Events Summit, held at the Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester this week.
Dame Louise became the first woman to head the Commonwealth Games Federation in 1999, and served for two terms as chairman of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland. She also had stints on the board of UK Sport and Sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport.
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Dame Louise was awarded the CBE for services to the Commonwealth Games in the 2003 New Year Honours, before being promoted to Dame Commander in 2019.
In an article which appeared in The Herald in 2007, shortly after Glasgow was awarded the 2014 Games, it was reported that Dame Louise had visited more than 60 countries in nine months as part of the bid campaign, often spending less than 24 hours in each, as she sold the city to the wider world.
Glasgow will again host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 after the state of Victoria in Australia pulled out.
Andy Rice, chief operating officer of Major Events International, said: “Dame Louise has been a long-time friend of Major Events International. We have been a great admirer of her work, her drive and her values since she ran the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. We were delighted that the delegates of our recent conference chose her for the Lifetime Achievement Award- a fitting tribute to a life well lived (with plenty more to come) in the service of sport.”
Gordon Ritchie, managing director of GRM Marketing, who worked with Dame Louise on the Glasgow 2014 campaign and was in attendance when she collected her latest award, said: "A great evening in Manchester with officials from Paris, Shanghai, Singapore and many other countries to see Dame Louise Martin win this well deserved award.
"She received a standing ovation and the respect shown in that room was clear to see and hear. Glasgow will host the Commonwealth games in 2026 with a city that has showcased how to put on first class events. Her dedication to the previous Commonwealth games is a major part of why Glasgow will be The Commonwealth games city in 2026.”
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