MILLIONS will be invested in the NHS after the cost of staging the Commonwealth Games was revealed to be almost £25 million under its final budget.
First Minister Alex Salmond said that £8m from the revised £563m budget would be spent on creating Scotland's first ever para-sports centre and on the Games legacy programme, with the leftover cash to be pumped into the health service.
However, the cost of staging the summer event was well above initial estimates when the city won the bid. In 2007, MSPs were told the cost would be just £373m, but the final price spiralled to about £190m more than the early predictions.
The bill for Glasgow 2014 climbed to £454m in November 2009, then to £524m in May 2010, and then to £563m in December 2012, when the security budget was trebled to £90m.
Mr Salmond said the Games had proven to be an "outstanding success" both in the way they were organised and the way they engaged hundreds of thousands of people in "the biggest event Scotland has ever hosted."
He added: "I am delighted to announce that in addition to being the greatest Commonwealth Games in history, it has come in almost £25m under budget, making it one of the few major sporting events in history which have managed to achieve that accolade and certainly the only one which has been both the greatest games and come in under budget."
"We have already announced that £6m will go into Scotland's first ever para-sports centre and £2m will support our successful legacy programme.
"The remaining funds will be invested back into Scotland's health service. It is clear that the benefit of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will be felt in Scotland for generations to come."
The final Games budget included a contingency pot of £66.1m, with £42.3m of general contingency and a special reserve of £23.8m. It emerged in June that most of the contingency had been used but the special reserve, which needed Government approval to access and was set aside for use only in "exceptional circumstances", was not required.
About £372m was paid for by the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council, with the organisations agreeing a 80:20 split. Sponsorship, merchandise, ticket sales and broadcasting rights were worth £100m, while a £90m security budget was managed by Police Scotland.
Chairman of Glasgow 2014 Lord Smith of Kelvin, who was appointed to lead the UK Government's Smith Commission on Scottish devolution after seeing his reputation boosted as a result of the popularity of the Games, said the £25m was made up of "previously committed public funds" that were not needed.
He added: "From the outset, the focus of the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee and our Games partners has been delivering a world-class Games for the Commonwealth which would make the people of Glasgow and Scotland feel proud.
"It gives me considerable pride to now be able to say that Glasgow and Scotland have made Games history, and have done so well within budget."
Prince Imran, the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said Glasgow 2014 and its partners should be "warmly congratulated" for a "prudent and responsible approach".
He added: "Glasgow and Scotland's Games has set bold new benchmarks, energised and inspired the Commonwealth sports movement and invested in developing a long-term legacy which will benefit a wide range of people and communities for many years to come."
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