On Friday, October 21 in Fukuoka, Japan, the Board of the International Astronautical Federation decided on Glasgow for its 59^th International Astronautical Congress in 2008. 

Glasgow was up against Milan to land the 2,000-delegate, five-day conference, which will take place at the Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre and generate £3 million ($5.3m) for the local economy.

The exhibition that accompanies the conference, which features examples of the very latest space technology including rockets, satellites and space suits, regularly attracts some 38,000 visitors, with many more coming as part of a programme of visits by schools and colleges.    

Scientists from all over the world who are devoted to supporting the exploration of space will attend the Congress, which has taken place in Houston (2002), Bremen, (2003) and Vancouver (2004) before this year’s convention in Fukuoka.

Glasgow City Marketing Bureau chief executive, Scott Taylor, who presented Glasgow’s bid to the IAF Board commented:

“To win this conference and exhibition over Milan is great news for Glasgow and for Scotland, and we did it in style!  The bidding process was one of the most intense that Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and the SECC have ever faced.  However, we were supported by a dream team from across Britain including the First Minister, the British Interplanetary Society, Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, Careers Scotland and the universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow.

“The bid team in Japan went all out to win for Scotland and we are delighted to be bringing this prestigious conference back to the city.”

Rex Hall MBE, President of the British Interplanetary Society (BIS), which will organise the event, celebrated the decision by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) to award the event to Glasgow. He said:

“This is great news for the UK’s scientists and space industries. We now have an opportunity to showcase Britain’s achievements in space and host a truly prestigious event which will bring the world’s space community to our shores for the first time in more than 20 years.

“The date in autumn 2008 is perfect for the BIS as we celebrate our 75th anniversary that year.  We promise to make it a great party.”

The bid for the International Astronautical Congress was three years in the making and Glasgow was up against Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham and London in the preliminary stages before being selected as the UK destination going forward to compete against the likes of Moscow and Lausanne in Switzerland.

In the final stages only Milan and Glasgow remained.

Glasgow’s bid was backed by both the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde, with Professor Colin McInnes in Strathclyde’s Department of Mechanics acting as a local ambassador who worked with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau to spearhead the bid.

The bid was also backed by Scotland’s First Minister, Jack McConnell, as well as Virgin Galactica – the space flight arm of Virgin - and the distinguished British science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke.

It is anticipated that the world’s top flight space exploration scientists and astronauts will gather in the city for the conference, providing inspiration for thousands of young people in Scotland to consider science and engineering as careers.

Representatives from both Scottish Enterprise and Careers Scotland are already considering how they can use the conference to reach out to local schools and communities to encourage recruitment to science and engineering professions.