Glasgow 2018 mascot Bonnie hopes to win girls’ seal of approval for sport

A FEMALE mascot has been chosen for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships as organisers hope to encourage more young women into sport.

Bonnie, a seal from Argyll, was unveiled exactly one year to the day that the inaugural championships – which bring together athletics, aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon with a new golf event – begin in Glasgow.

The 2018 event is being hosted jointly by Glasgow and Berlin and it is hoped it will elevate the status of European Championships in each sport and attract a large continental audience.

Bonnie was introduced to an audience of children in Glasgow on Wednesday, along with Olympic champion gymnast and Glasgow 2018 ambassador Max Whitlock.

Scottish sport minister Aileen Campbell said: “I think it’s really important that Bonnie is a girl and that she’s willing to give things a try. That’s the whole narrative that’s built around Bonnie and the resilience we want to encourage in our youngsters.

“Of course, we do know that we have particular challenges around getting women and girls into sport and activity, which makes it even more important that we have the symbol of these championships being female.

“Bonnie is a girl, the ambassador for these games, and she’s going to give all the sporting events coming to Glasgow next year a try. That’s all we can ever want from our youngsters, to give things a go and try their very best. Hopefully that’s the strong message that comes from these championships.”

VIDEO: Official mascot for Glasgow 2018 European Championships revealed

With the championships taking place four years after Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games, city leaders say the infrastructure is already in place for a successful event.

An appeal for volunteers to help at the championships has been inundated with applications and thousands of visitors are expected for the 11 days of competition.

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken said: “We’re building a new BMX track but other than that, the championships will use existing venues, building on the expertise and lessons learned during the Commonwealth Games.

“We’re expecting something like 50,000 visitors from Europe and beyond and there will be 3,000 athletes coming to participate.

“I think the sports we are hosting like gymnastics, cycling and swimming have really strong fan bases and people will want to come and see these athletes competing at the top level.”

Whitlock said he hopes to complete a hat-trick of victories in Glasgow, having won gold in the city twice before at the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships in 2015.

He said: “I’ve had some amazing memories in this city and the crowds were great so I can’t wait to do it again.

“This is a new and exciting competition so it should have more of an atmosphere with all the sports going on. Making it a multi-sport event brings something extra and I think it brings the country together in getting behind athletes, which helps us to do the best we can.”