Conferencing & Events blogUCI Cycling World Championships

Cycling fever in Glasgow

Although the weather may have been a bit disappointing over the summer, our mood was certainly lifted by the arrival of the first UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow on the 3rd August.

We were thrilled to be chosen as one of the UCI Media Centres for the duration of the event which transformed our venue into a hubbub of media activity with space for 360 journalists.

With a front row seat to the action just outside our window, we thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of seeing the elite athletes tackle the ‘Mur De Montrose’ and watched in awe as they made it up the hill in one go, not just once, but 10 times! We struggle to walk up the hill each day never mind cycle up it repeatedly at top speed!

The atmosphere in the city was electric with visitors and cycling enthusiasts enjoying the activities taking place in the Official Fan Zone in George Square where local bands were playing daily and medal ceremonies were taking place.

Cyclists compete in Glasgow around George Square during the championship races

It all comes down to teamwork!

We began talks with UCI in July 2020, with the media centre being the culmination of months of teamwork at its best. From initial discussions with VisitScotland, Glasgow Life and UCI, numerous site visits and regular catchups, it was tremendous to see a complete reimagining of our spaces to accommodate complex requirements.

Our team embodied Strathclyde’s values, working collaboratively with several internal departments, including our Information Services and Estates teams, to ensure that the relevant infrastructure was in place to support cabled workstations for journalists and photographers; it was certainly a different type of event for our wee team!

Tables and chairs set classroom style in the foyer for UCI media centre

Making it all worthwhile

Following the event, we received some really lovely feedback from Russell Swannack, Media Operations Manager, 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships: “I can't thank Lesley, Nicola and the full team enough for all of their hard work in pulling together the media centre. We received excellent feedback from the media, UCI and everyone who visited. There was no task too big or too small to improve the event. You have a wonderful team culture and professional approach which is hard to beat.”

These comments are always so appreciated by the team so thank you Russell! We just see it as doing our job; putting our clients at the heart of everything we do and making sure that their experience is a memorable one!

The Technology and Innovation Centre's Main Auditorium set for UCI press conference

Get in touch

We’re so lucky that we have such a flexible venue in our midst so if you have any extra special requirements or would just like to find out more about hosting an event with us, we love a chat and we’d love to hear from you!