Volunteering at Glasgow 2014

Over 12,300 Clyde-siders supported Glasgow 2014 and made sure the event lived up to its billing as "the friendly Games."

You'd be hard-pressed to walk down the street without being greeted by a smiling Clyde-sider in red and grey.

From giving directions to holding Usain Bolt's kit on the track at Hampden, volunteers were at the heart of Glasgow 2014.

Volunteers gave up their valuable time and got the opportunity to experience a historic event.

The Games also helped people to make new friends and improve their knowledge and skills.

Glasgow 2014 whet the appetite of existing volunteers and encouraged a new generation.

You can find out more about this below.

The Games were the first time Glasgow experienced a burst of event volunteering.

Over 50,000 applied to be a Clyde-sider, with people applying from Scotland and beyond.

There were also 1,100 Host City Volunteers and 300 pre-Games Frontrunner Volunteers.

On top of that, 3,000 volunteered for the performances at the opening and closing ceremonies.

Many of the volunteers from the Games still give their time to make sure Glasgow remains a unique place to host events.

The enthusiasm for volunteering at major events is a legacy of Glasgow 2014. 

Interest remains strong. More than 4,000 volunteers supported the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.

In 2024, over 2,000 people applied to join the 600-strong team of volunteers for the World Athletics Indoor Championships.