Glasgow Labour leader Gordon Matheson has claimed that “excitement is mounting” in the city at the prospect of Olympic football matches being staged at Hampden Park.
Mr Matheson said that “Hampden is going to be full of fans enjoying Olympic football because it is an historic occasion”.
The leader of Glasgow Council was commenting after the unveiling of a steel structure in the shape of the Olympic rings in Glasgow’s George Square.
Hampden will stage five women’s football matches and three men’s during the Games. However ticket sales in the city have been poor with only around a quarter having been sold.
The stadium was at the centre of a row at the weekend when it emerged that the Scottish national flag will not be allowed to fly over Hampden for the duration of the Games. Scottish league football matches have also been suspended when Olympic matches are taking place.
There is also unhappiness that policing costs for the football matches will come out of the Strathclyde Police budget and not the official Games’ budget.
The unveiling of the Olympic Rings in Glasgow is in addition to banners around the city advertising the London Olympics.
