The 21st century tartan which will be a defining part of the fabric of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games was revealed for the first time today (17 April 2012) to an excited audience of school pupils at Shawland’s Academy in Glasgow.
The school was chosen as the launch venue as a tribute to the tartan’s teenage designer Aamir Mehmood. Aamir, a 15-year-old Shawlands Academy pupil, beat thousands of young people from across Scotland with his winning design which was created using Glasgow 2014’s brand colours.
Pupils from more than 300 schools across Scotland entered the competition and Aamir’s design was chosen by a six-strong judging panel. His colourful plaid will now be seen by an audience of more than one billion people worldwide in the lead up to and during Glasgow 2014.
In addition to his tartan, Aamir shared the creative inspiration behind his design. He said he incorporated blue, yellow, white and red to represent Scotland’s national colours. In addition he used a green landscape to demonstrate the fact that 75% of Shawlands Academy is bilingual and around 50 different languages are spoken in his school, which is the most-ethnically diverse secondary school in Scotland.
As part of his entry he described the design as suggesting that “we should put all conflicts and rivalries aside and celebrate the games being held in Glasgow and Scotland, just as all the different nations will come together in celebration of the Commonwealth Games.”
Aamir said: “It’s an amazing feeling to know that my design is the official tartan for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. It will be seen all around the world and I’m so privileged and proud to be part of this huge sporting event coming to Glasgow and Scotland.”
It is anticipated that the tartan will be used in the lead up to and during Glasgow 2014 and feature in showcase moments such as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, medal ceremonies, welcome ceremonies for Commonwealth Games Associations merchandise and gifting.
Michael Cavanagh, Chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland and a member of the judging panel said: “It is fantastic that this new tartan has been created to help celebrate the Glasgow 2014 Games and as a member of the judging panel, what struck me most was the impressive cultural insight and creative thinking behind it. Many congratulations to Aamir and Shawlands Academy.”