The highlight of Glasgow's Commonwealth Games opening ceremony will be the equivalent of the GAA levelling Ballymun during the pre-match parade of an All-Ireland Final - and beaming the event onto a gigantic screen in Croke Park.
Five tower blocks, which have been an integral part of Glasgow's skyline for nearly 50 years, will be demolished as part of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on 23 July.
All but one of the remaining red Road flats will be levelled in just 15 seconds - the biggest demolition of its kind in Europe. The event will be shown on 100-foot wide screens at the Celtic Park ceremony.
Eight 30-storey blocks were built on the site in the early 1960s and housed around 4,000 people. Over 1250kg of explosives will be used during the event.
Eileen Gallagher, chairwoman of the clunkily-monikered Glasgow 2014 ceremonies, culture and Queen's Baton Relay committee, said: "By sharing the final moments of the Red Road flats with the world as part of the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, Glasgow is proving it is a city that is proud of its history but doesn't stand still, a city that is constantly regenerating, renewing and re-inventing itself."
887 homes will be evacuated from the surrounding area with an exclusion zone around the whole site.
One tower block will remain standing, and will be used to house asylum seekers. One can see a certain wing of the press lining up 'preferential treatment' headlines already.
Commonwealth Games Minister Shona Robison said: "This spectacular start to the games within the opening ceremony will send a strong signal about the power of the Commonwealth Games (for Glasgow, presumably).
"For many people, these games are more than sport, they are a chance for regeneration, renewal and having better places to live and work."
One can only speculate what Ireland might ceremonially demolish if the country is awarded the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The Spire? The Poolbeg Towers? The Anglo building that's now a Starbucks?
[BBC]
