THE hunt to recruit 15,000 volunteers for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games has begun with the launch of the Volunteer Centre.

The Albion Street centre was opened by Glasgow 2014 chairman Lord Smith with the help of Clyde, the thistle-themed mascot for the Games, as reported in later editions of last night's Evening Times.

Official online applications open in mid-January but people can visit the centre to find out more about volunteering or register their interest on the Glasgow 2014 website.

Organisers hope 50,000 people will contact them before the end of the year.

The contribution of the Games Makers during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was widely recognised as a success story and Glasgow 2014 will be seeking its own volunteers to help deliver the largest sporting and cultural event ever hosted in Scotland.

The Volunteer Centre in Glasgow's Merchant City will act as a hub, hosting an anticipated 1000 interviews a week for the huge range of volunteer roles. The interviews are due to start from April 2013 onwards.

Lord Smith said: "Today's formal opening of the Volunteer Centre is a landmark moment for Glasgow 2014 and this building will go on to be the hub where the interviews take place to recruit the friendly faces who can stamp their own personalities on the Games."

Not all of the roles will be high profile or in the frontline and many might be away from the athletes. They are all, however, crucial to making sure the Games run smoothly.

All volunteers are required to be 16 or over when application opens in mid-January, be eligible to work in the UK and must be available for at least eight days between July 23 and August 3 in 2014.

Visit www.glasgow2014.com/volunteer for more details.

stef.lach@heraldandtimes.co.uk