The Scottish city of Glasgow was to formalise in a ceremony on Wednesday its bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Hoping to hold the quadrennial games for the first time in its history, Glasgow will face competition from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, which is bidding to become the first African host.
They were left in a two-horse race after Halifax, the Canadian entrant, withdrew from the bidding process.
The final vote will be taken by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) members in Sri Lanka in November.
The multi-sport, multi-nation games are currently running on a high following hugely successful editions in Kuala Lumpur (1998), Manchester (2002) and Melbourne (2006).
Glasgow bid president Michael Fennell said: ”There is no question the Commonwealth Games has been firmly established as a major international sporting event.
”It can only retain that position if we ensure our standards are not compromised.
”We have to ensure the Games are hosted to the highest possible standards otherwise we will lose that international recognition and the consequences of that are unthinkable. The year 2014 would mark the centenary of Nigeria’s independence as a nation and Abuja’s case would also meet the CGF’s desire to spread the Games throughout the member states.
The 2010 Games in New Delhi will be only the third time they have been held outside of the Britain, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. — Sapa-AFP