The Big Count Down

And with tomorrow being the official 500th day, preparations are already ahead of the 2014 Games.

Already the countdown has begun to get the 21 venues up and running for the start of competitions.

And some of the country's top sporting stars have already given their seal of approval.

Some of cycling's biggest stars have tested the boards at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and top athletes have competed in front of sell out crowds in the Emirates Arena.

But, elsewhere in the city, builders are still working hard to get everything finished in time for Glasgow 2014.

Ian McKenzie, head of venue and village development and overlay for the Games, explained why 500 days is such a milestone for the organising committee.

He said: "Every day is an important milestone, but 500 – people like to use numbers because it makes it real. I think that 500 days to go means 500 days to the open ceremony.

"Clearly a lot of work will be done before then and it just reminds everybody how little time there is between now and the Games.

"We will be working on the conversion of Hampden to an athletics stadium, we will be putting the temporary overlay into the Athletes Village, we will be delivering by this time next year on a number of venues and then other venues will come on theme in terms of our temporary overlay later in 2014, so they are all ready for the Games.

"All these milestones are important along the way, just to take stock and say 'what lies ahead of us and here's what time we have to deliver all this work we have got to do."

Ian has been working on the Games since 2004 when the initial bid was prepared.

Now he is in charge of overseeing the construction of the venues and organising the temporary infrastructure that will be necessary at Games time.

Him and his team will make sure that 20,000 temporary seats are in place for sports fans, temporary toilets are provided, as well as tents, changing accommodation and everything else necessary for athletes and spectators.

Work on the majority of the venues is well under way, with more official openings expected over the coming months.

Tollcross International Swimming Centre, the home of swimming events for Glasgow 2014, will reopen in May this year, after a £13.8m revamp which includes a brand new 50-metre warm up pool and 2000 spectator seats.

Cathkin Braes, which will host the mountain bike competitions at Glasgow 2014, is undergoing finishing touches before it is used for events including round three of the SXC National Series on May 12 and the British X-Country Championships on July 20-21.

Players are bowling already at Kelvingrove Bowling Centre, and at Scotstoun the squash courts are completed and the finishing touches are being undertaken before it can be opened up before long.

The £5.5m hockey centre at Glasgow Green is also well under construction with the building expected to be finished in May 2013 and the pitch prepared for matches by July.

The Hydro – a £125m project which will host gymnastics during the games – is due to be completed in August with public events planned for September.

And at Hampden Park – work has begun on the extension of the north stand to provide better access for people with disabilities.

In November builders will move in to construct the athletics track at Hampden and the warm-up track at Lesser Hampden, with the aim to complete by May next year.

The work involves raising the pitch level 1.9m on average to create a larger platform for an international standards track.

Ian said: "All these developments are well in advance of the Games. As far as the development is concerned, that has been well managed and is well on track.

"It was always planned to start early because inevitably in big building projects there can be delays, and fortunately we have not had anything that has been a serious delays that has caused any problems."

The opening of the Emirates Arena and the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in October last year has been one of the most high-profile achievements of the Commonwealth Games so far.

Thousands of people packed the stands for the UCI World Cycling Championships in November and the Gymnastics World Cup in December was a sellout.

And everyday cyclists of all ages and abilities train at and use the brand new, state of the art facilities.

Ian said: "Although it is a major venue for the Games, it was planned to have a legacy and serve Scottish sport for a long time after the Games."

During the Games around 6500 athletes and officials will live in the Commonwealth Games Athletes' Village in the East End.

Construction of 700 properties at the site is well under way and a handover is expected in January 2014.

Ian said: "You can now go onto site and envisage the completed village, the houses are looking really good."

matty.sutton@ eveningtimes.co.uk