Everything from a dancing teacake to a previously missing mascot are encapsulated in a touring Commonwealth Games exhibition which has arrived at the University of Stirling.
Hosts and Champions: Scotland in the Commonwealth Games is packed with photographs, clothes and assorted artefacts charting more than 80 years of Scotland’s participation and achievement in the Commonwealth Games.
Fittingly, it opened at the University’s MacRobert Arts Centre on the one-year anniversary of the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Richard Haynes, Professor of Communications, Media and Culture at the University of Stirling and academic curator of the exhibition, said: “The Hosts and Champions exhibition has been a real hit in the towns and cities it has visited so far and I’m sure that will be the same at such a proud sporting hub as the University of Stirling, where it will be on display until Friday 11 September.
“The exhibition includes lots of recent memorabilia from Glasgow 2014 and it continues to grow as many people have come along and donated items they have from past games, including a previously unknown mascot from the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games in 1970.”
Twenty-four Stirling students and alumni competed at Glasgow 2014, including medal-winning swimmers Ross Murdoch, Cameron Brodie and Jak Scott. The sporting campus, designated as Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence, is home to the National Swimming Academy and triathlonscotland’s performance centre as well as providing the administrative hub for Commonwealth Games Scotland.
Jon Doig, Commonwealth Games Scotland Chief Executive, said: “Team Scotland’s achievements at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games caught the imagination of the nation and we are delighted this exhibition from our archive gives people the length and breadth of the country the opportunity to share in these memories and find out more about what makes the Commonwealth Games so special.”
Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, said: “With no fewer than 24 University of Stirling students, past and present, competing at Glasgow 2014, this seems a perfect venue for this exhibition. It’s hard to believe that it’s a year since that unforgettable fortnight when Scotland welcomed the world. This exhibition tells the fascinating story of Scotland’s involvement in the Commonwealth Games and is highly recommended.”
The free exhibition, developed with the support of Commonwealth Games Scotland and Legacy 2014, is curated by the University of Stirling Archives. It is on display in the MacRobert Arts Centre daily from 9am to 7pm now until Friday 11 September.
Find out more about Hosts and Champions and on Twitter at #HostsandChampions.
Media enquiries to: David Tripp, Communications Officer, on 0044 (0)1786 466687 or email david.tripp@stir.ac.uk