ALL across Glasgow the final preparations for the Commonwealth Games are becoming more visible.
A giant logo sits in George Square next to the Games merchandising centre. Banners are appearing on lampposts. Tickets are arriving in letterboxes. And at the Chamber we are finalising our own arrangements for activity at the Glasgow Business Embassy in the Merchant City.
Last week we held the first formal meeting of our new President's Club, bringing together a network of Glasgow's most senior business people to support the promotion of the city, its economy and its business community both during and - especially - after the Games.
If we are to secure a lasting legacy from the Games we need to get the message out about our city's new economy, and to do that we will be drawing on the work over the past two years of the Glasgow Economic Leadership Board.
Set up by the leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Gordon Matheson, supported by national economic development agencies and chaired by Professor Sir Jim McDonald, principal of the University of Strathclyde, the GEL board has been advising the city on the assets the city's economy can build upon and the opportunities it should be chasing to grow the economy and to create new jobs.
There is no shortage of powerful points to make, for example Glasgow's traditional strengths in engineering are back to the fore - so much so that we have to work very hard to produce the steady supply of engineers that we now need.
Look along George Street and you'll see the University of Strathclyde's giant new Technology Innovation Centre taking shape. The TIC illustrates perfectly what's happening in Glasgow, since it will physically bring together major Glasgow companies like the Weir Group and ScottishPower with academic researchers to find technical solutions to real commercial challenges.
Sitting right next door to the TIC and already operating is the Inovo building, home to the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. So much of our engineering talent is now being invested in renewable energy that Glasgow has the largest concentration of jobs in renewables in Scotland. That's partly why the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau has attracted the All-Energy conference to the city for the next three years.
We can tell very similar stories for life sciences, tourism, financial services and for higher and further education.
After the Games are long over, both the GEL Board and our President's Club will be pushing out those stories across the world, and shouting loud: "Glasgow wants your business".
Stuart Patrick is chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
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