First Minister should have halted daft plan
IT was not disloyalty that led people to question the wisdom of the demolition of high-rise tower blocks becoming the centrepiece of t he Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. It was sheer common sense. What has the destruction of vacant buildings got to do with the sporting excellence on display at Glasgow 2014? What would the estimated TV audience of a billion make of Scotland, given the vast majority know nothing of the Red Road flats’ troubled history? How much ice would any talk of a city regenerating itself cut with people around the Commonwealth who looked on and saw only 15 seconds of explosives and a massive pall of dust?
First Minister Alex Salmond was long aware of the Red Road plans and signed off on them. Yet yesterday he appeared on TV posturing as the voice of reason, uttering unctuous words about safety.
The truth of the matter is simple. Locals, appalled by the prospect of the flats’ destruction being turned into a circus, said they would not move from within the blast zone, a story this newspaper rightly gave the publicity i t deserved on Saturday.
Police Scotland wisely decided they would not countenance donning riot gear to evict families and so yesterday came the fiasco of the dumping of the ‘highlight’ of the opening ceremony. Mr Salmond and the Games organising committee do not come out of this well. They can point to safety concerns forcing their hand but the reality is that they could have called a halt to this crackpot plan long ago.
Blinded by a desire to outdo the spectacle of the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, Glasgow 2014 over-reached itself. When criticism was voiced, the organisers did not listen and instead entrenched their position.
Even now there is no hint of remorse, let alone apology. Mr Salmond emerging to pretend he has come to the party late and must, dolefully, accept the diktats of health and safety is risible. But l et us be clear. Glasgow 2014 represents a fantastic opportunity for Scotland as a whole and the country wishes it well.
Let us heave a sigh of relief that we have been spared a misfit opening spectacle. And let us hope that, in only 100 days, we can all bask in the reflected glory of a wellorganised and well-presented Games.