An armchair guide to Glasgow 2014

The lion's share of the action will take place in and around the Glasgow area, although there are two Commonwealth Games satellite sites: diving will take place at the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh, while shooting will be held at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre in Carnoustie, Angus.

DATES FOR THE DIARY

The first gold of the Games will come in the women's triathlon at Strathclyde Country Park on July 24, while the hot ticket 100m finals - both men's and women's - will take place on the evening of July 28 at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Glasgow 2014 will have its own "super Saturday" on August 2 with 34 gold medals up for grabs in aquatics (diving), athletics, boxing, hockey, squash, table tennis and powerlifting.

There are three free, non-ticketed events being held around the city: the marathon on July 27, the cycling time trial on July 31 and the cycling road race on August 3.

SCOTS TO WATCH

Katie Archibald, cycling

Ever since six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy decided it was time to give his famed thighs a well-earned rest, Scottish cycling fans have been searching for a successor. Katie Archibald is a star in the ascendant - the 20-year-old from Milngavie is a reigning world and European champion in the team pursuit.

But it's not just her ability on the track that makes Archibald stand out: her trademark eye-catching tresses also set her apart from the crowd. Most recently her hair has been platinum, but in past months it's been variously pink, green, orange and yellow. Rumour has it she may be going for a patriotic blue and white when she takes to the boards at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Archibald represents five medal chances, with three races on the track as well as the time trial - known as the "race of truth", which sees each rider pitted against the clock - and the road race.

Until last November, Archibald worked in telesales for her family's business, selling mattresses. She has several tattoos, including one on her back of a girl looking through binoculars, inspired by the lyrics of her favourite spoken word artist Scroobius Pip.

Michael Jamieson, swimming

If ever there was a poster boy for the Games, it's Michael Jamieson. This is a man who looks like he was chiselled from granite by the Greek gods themselves. He also happens to be a whizz in the pool at his chosen discipline of 200m breaststroke, garnering silver medals at Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth level. Competing for Scotland in his home town of Glasgow, he will be aiming for gold.

Jamieson, 25, hit the headlines last November when his heart required to be shocked by medics after going into arrhythmia - an irregular beat - following a tough training session.

While Usain Bolt has his lightning-inspired signature pose and Mo Farah the "Mobot", Jamieson recently revealed he has some slick moves of his own. He has admitted to pestering his long-suffering younger sister Lauren, an aspiring professional dancer, to teach him the legendary steps first performed by another well known MJ: Michael Jackson.

"I've been trying to learn the Moonwalk for about five years," says Jamieson. "She's got no patience teaching me. The number of times I've asked her to teach me a couple of moves."

Whether said fancy footwork will be debuted at a poolside any time soon, Jamieson is remaining coy. "Being a swimmer I have no co-ordination or rotation skills," he says. "I'm absolutely hopeless."

Libby Clegg, athletics

A double Paralympic silver medallist, Scottish sprinter Libby Clegg is due to compete in the T12 100m at Glasgow 2014. The 24-year-old from Newcastleton in the Borders suffers from the deteriorating eye condition Stargardt macular dystrophy, giving her only slight peripheral vision on her left side. She is registered blind.

When Clegg competes she is accompanied by her guide runner Mikail Huggins. The pair are linked by a guide rope, meaning they have to be in complete sync with the same stride patterns and their arms mirroring each other.

Competing at the Paralympics in London two years ago, Clegg described the support of the home crowd as feeling like "everyone was giving you a massive hug" and she is looking forward to experiencing the same goosebump-inducing atmosphere when she races at Hampden.

Clegg is a self-confessed sci-fi fantasy geek who read all five Game Of Thrones books in less than 12 weeks. She has vowed to make guide runner Huggins wear a pair of Nessie boxer shorts under his kilt for the opening ceremony at Celtic Park on July 23.

The men's gymnastics team

It's been 12 years since Falkirk's Steve Frew claimed Scotland's first - and only - Commonwealth Games gold medal in gymnastics, but this summer a new heroic chapter is primed to be written.

One of the most fiercely contested battles of the Games is set to unfold in the men's artistic gymnastics team competition, when top seeds Scotland and England go head-to-head.

Team Scotland comprises Daniel Keatings, Daniel Purvis, Frank Baines, Adam Cox and Liam Davie, while Team England have named Louis Smith, Max Whitlock, Sam Oldham, Kristian Thomas and Nile Wilson. So evenly matched are their world-class skills that no-one so far has dared to pick a favourite.

Regular viewers of Strictly Come Dancing will be familiar with Smith's hot-stepping showmanship, but as an Olympic silver medallist he's no slouch on a pommel horse either. Whitlock, the reigning European champion on the same apparatus, is another danger man.

Scotland's Cox is the comeback kid, having emerged from retirement in late 2012. Glasgow will mark his third Commonwealth Games and a glittering fairytale ending would be the stuff of Hollywood movies as he bows out for good.

With a Scottish father and English mother, Baines saw plenty of lobbying from both sides to secure his talents. "There was a lot of persuasion from the two Dans and Adam Cox because they believed it would make it more of a competition between England and Scotland if I was Scottish," he says. "I'm looking forward to it because I train with a lot of the English lads. I got a lot of stick at first but it's all smoothed out now. They tried to persuade me the other way but I felt more Scottish to be honest."

GLOBAL SUPERSTARS

Usain Bolt is among a host of big names headed for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. While athletics fans had hoped that the six-time Olympic gold medallist Bolt would set Hampden Park alight in the 100m and 200m, recent injury has meant he has only been named in the squad for the men's 4x100m relay, which will be contested on August 2. Fellow Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who like Bolt missed her country's national trials, hopes to contest the women's 4x100m relay.

Double Olympic champion Mo Farah has declared himself fit in recent days to compete in the 5,000m and 10,000m while David Rudisha, the Kenyan middle-distance runner who is the current Olympic and world record holder in the 800m, will also be hoping to delight the crowd.

Australian 100m hurdler Sally Pearson, who took gold at London 2012, is set to defend the Commonwealth title she won in Delhi four years ago, while English wheelchair racer David Weir, a six-time Paralympic champion, will contest the T54 1500m.

Look out for home-grown Scottish athletics talents Eilidh Child (400m hurdles), Laura Muir (800m and 1500m), Chris O'Hare (1500m) and Guy Learmonth (800m).

Some names that may stoke some nostalgia include 800m runner Lynsey Sharp, whose parents Carol and Cameron were part of the 1982 team, and Eilish McColgan, daughter of double Commonwealth gold medallist Liz McColgan-Nuttall, who will compete in the 3000m steeplechase.

Women's boxing will make its Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow and Olympic champion Nicola Adams will be looking to add another gold to her collection. Other likely crowd-pleasers include diver Tom Daley and triathlon brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee. While many have bemoaned the absence of the nation's darling Jessica Ennis, who is pregnant with her first child, rising heptathlon star Katarina Johnson-Thompson is definitely one to watch.

There will be plenty of heroics on two wheels with 2012 Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins, Olympic medallists Laura Trott and Lizzie Armitstead as well as Scotland's David Millar, the defending Commonwealth Games champion in the men's time trial event.

THE HEARTSTRING HEROES

Keep an eye out for Jedidiah Amoako-Ackah, who is set to ride into the history books as the first track cyclist to compete for Ghana in the Commonwealth Games.

The 23-year-old, who has called Glasgow home for the past 14 years, only took up cycling nine months ago. It took him seven attempts to pass the accreditation test required to use the velodrome track before he could begin training in earnest at the beginning of November.

Scotland's Micky Yule - a cover star of The Herald Magazine back in January - will be competing in para-sport powerlifting. A former staff sergeant in the Royal Engineers, the 35-year-old was serving in Afghanistan when, on a routine mission to clear improvised explosive devices (IEDs), one detonated beneath his foot. Yule lost both legs instantaneously. He has since undergone 43 operations while adapting to life as a double amputee.

He took up powerlifting in 2011: a mere 12 months after being seriously injured in Afghanistan. The Musselburgh athlete will compete in the heavyweight division at the Games. If he can lift his target of 190kg - almost three times his body weight - it should push him into the medal zone.

Then there is 40-year-old marathon runner Steve Way who, in only a handful of years, has gone from overweight smoker with a 38-inch waist to being selected for Team England at the Games.

BUSTING THE JARGON

Cycling

Do say: "The road race route is going to prove a real war of attrition."

Don't say: "When is Sir Chris Hoy on?"

Gymnastics

Do say: "England may be strong on pommel horse, but Scotland are masters of the parallel bars."

Don't say: "Oooooh, aren't their leotards pretty?"

Wrestling

Do say: "Let's hope Scottish sisters Donna and Fiona Robertson don't draw each other in the first round of the women's 48kg."

Don't say: "I used to watch this when Big Daddy was competing. Whatever happened to Giant Haystacks?"

Lawn Bowls

Do say: "The heavy greens at Kelvingrove will surely play to Scotland's advantage."

Don't say: "Has anyone scored a strike yet?"

Athletics

Do say: "If the conditions are good we should see some fast times on the track at Hampden."

Don't say: "Usain Bolt is going to be awesome in the 100m."

WHAT ELSE IS ON?

BBC At The Quay, July 19 until August 3

The banks of the River Clyde will host a free, 16-day pop-up festival during the Games. A site adjacent to BBC ­Scotland's headquarters at Pacific Quay will form a cultural hub featuring live music, radio broadcasts and television favourites such as The One Show, The Ken Bruce Show, A Question Of Sport and Who Do You Think You Are?

There will be three performance spaces, including one aboard the PS Waverley, the world's last seagoing paddle steamer. The site will be open to the public from 9am until 1am daily.

Visit bbc.co.uk/thequay.

Merchant City Festival, July 24 until August 3

With a specially extended programme over 11 days, Glasgow's cultural quarter of the Merchant City will offer a colourful cornucopia of street theatre and outdoor performances, including special commissions and premieres as well as music, dance, comedy, visual art, fashion, drama, film, food, tours, walks and markets.

There will be a dedicated Family Zone while The Vintage Festival, the brainchild of Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway, will return after a sell-out debut last summer.

Visit merchantcityfestival.com.

Kelvingrove Bandstand, July 23 until August 3

A short hop across the city in the west end, the newly restored Kelvingrove Bandstand will host its own programme of events including folk, rock, pop, classical and jazz concerts as well as comedy, visual art, film and storytelling.

Built in 1924, the bandstand and amphitheatre was recently returned to its former glory after a public campaign backed by Glasgow music names including Belle and Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand and The Pastels.

Visit glasgow2014.com/festival2014 .

Glasgow Green Live Zone, July 24 until August 3

Three of the most spectacular sporting events of the Games will start and finish in the Glasgow Green Live Zone: the marathon, cycling time trial and cycling road race.

The space will be divided into a series of distinct areas including The Living Room, where the main stage will feature music ranging from electro-pop and indie to hip hop, Celtic and classical. Others include The Kitchen, which will showcase the best in Scottish produce, and The Shed, home to homegrown designers and artists. n

Visit glasgow2014.com/festival2014.