A GLOBAL exchange project is part of a £15m programme to help Glasgow secure the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Organisers want 50 young people from the five continents to live in Scotland's biggest city for a year to develop a £15.2m Culture and Education Programme (CEP).

The details of the programme, which will go ahead if Glasgow is picked as host city, were released today.

The bid team said their aim was to reach out to young people across the world, using Glasgow's "existing expertise" in encouraging healthy lifestyles and global citizenship. Many of the projects would launch as early as 2016 if the go-ahead is given.

Glasgow, which is up against Argentine capital Buenos Aires and Medellin in Colombia, will find out whether it has been chosen this Thursday at an event in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The programme would see the Youth Olympic Village become the heart of CEP during the Games, with athletes taking part in a Champions In Their Lives Programme.

This will include interactive sessions with Olympian ambassadors, sessions on anti-doping and the dangers of over-training and the chance to socialise with other young people.

As well as the village, arts venues, including the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), the Tramway and the Old Fruitmarket would be used in the projects.

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be staged at the SECC National Arena.

Paul Bush, Glasgow 2018 Bid Director, said: "Our detailed and costed Culture and Education Programme is one of the central reasons why we believe Glasgow's is the bid which can project the YOG and the Olympic Values across the globe.

Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn MSP Patricia Ferguson said the move would provide the "true legacy" for the Games.

She said: "These plans would bring the positive impact of sport to young people across the globe, not just in Scotland. This would be the true legacy of the Games for future generations."