MORE than £1billion TV viewers across 43 countries watched Glasgow’s European Championships last year, new figures have shown.

The official evaluation has revealed the national and international exposure the multi-sport event enjoyed as it was broadcast on free-to-air channels across Europe, raking in £34million of ‘additional spend’ in Scotland.

Stunning images of Glasgow and Scotland were promoted to a TV audience of more than 1.4 billion during the staging of the hugely successful event.

And with online and social media coverage included, the audience for the 12 sports across Glasgow and co-host Berlin, who staged the Athletics, reached a massive 2.9 billion in the key tourism and business market of Europe.

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In total the media exposure for Glasgow and Scotland was worth more than £250 million in PR value as millions of sports fans enjoyed the 11 days of Aquatics, Cycling, Golf, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon.

Highlights included British swimming hero Adam Peaty break his own world record in the 100m Breaststroke at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.

At the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome Scottish cyclist Katie Archibald’s silver medal win in the Individual Pursuit was watched by a 2 million viewers.

The BBC also reported that the event attracted a higher female and younger audience than many other sporting events.

Across Glasgow and Scotland more than 560,000 people, more than double the projected number, attended a sport session, a Festival 2018 offering or visited the hugely popular George Square and ‘GO LIVE! at The Green’ live sites.

Final attendance figures show 137,000 tickets for sport were issued, packing each of the 12 venues with roaring crowds to support the new champions of Europe. More than 54,000 attended free sporting events such as the Cycling Road Race on the streets of the city, and the Open Water Swimming at the stunning Loch Lomond.

In total, 97 percent of spectators from Glasgow were proud that their city, renowned for the warm welcome of its residents, was hosting the mega event.

Minister for Sport, Joe FitzPatrick MSP, said: “The incredible broadcast numbers achieved by the Glasgow 2018 European Championships are great news, and mean people around the world had the chance to see Scotland demonstrating the nation’s ability to stage top-class sporting events.

“The competition will have far-reaching effects – not just in terms of showcasing our country and culture around the globe, but also in inspiring a whole new generation of athletes.

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A total of 3,103 athletes representing 48 countries competed during Glasgow 2018. Russia topped the medal table, followed closely by Great Britain. The event included numerous memorable experiences with new European champions crowned in 187 medal events and two world records were broken in the Swimming.

An estimated £24 million of contracts were awarded to Scottish companies, with £8.5 million of those going to companies based in the Glasgow City Region.

Around 50 per cent of the volunteers said they we would do more volunteering as a result of taking part in Glasgow 2018. Another 17 countries were represented across Team 2018.

Alongside the sport, Festival 2018 was a world class cultural festival which created a vibrant live city experience, with 2,400 artists and performers contributing, alongside more than 5,600 voluntary and non-professional performers. In total more than 370,000 people visited a Festival or Live Site.