Glasgow, Berlin to co-host European Sports Championships in 2018

Scotland and Germany are to co-host the first European Sports Championships in 2018, it has been announced.

Governing bodies hope that the joint-hosting of the event will help boost audience figures and sponsorship opportunities, with cycling, swimming and rowing among the sports to be held.

Around 2,900 athletes will compete in the 10-12 day event in Glasgow, which is expected to land the city a £100m economic boost as a result.

The vast majority of the venues used at the 2014 Commonwealth Games will host the action, while Berlin will stage athletic events.

Organisers are also said to be hopeful of including golf at Gleneagles, which played host to the prestigious 2014 Ryder Cup.

Scottish minister for sport Jamie Hepburn is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "Last summer Scotland showed the world what a tremendous job it can do when it comes to staging major sporting events, with the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup both hugely successful.

"As part of the legacy of those events, we want to attract even more top-class sport to Scotland, and the European Sports Championships is certainly in that category."

The Scottish leg of the event will be funded jointly by the Scottish government and Glasgow City Council.