A YEAR ago Glasgow was gearing up for what would become the best ever Commonwealth Games.

When the athletes left town, sports fans may well have thought the best was behind them.

But today the biggest para-swimming event in the world begins in Tollcross International Swimming Centre.

The IPC Swimming World Championships will see about 650 swimmers from 50 nations battling to be crowned the best in the world in their disciplines.

The event, which is staged every two years, is the biggest event on the calendar for para-swimming outside of the Paralympic Games and will see the world's best male and female para-swimmers - including Ellie Simmonds and Scotland's Andrew Mullen and Scott Quinn - in action.

Their towels will only just have dried off when Glasgow welcomes the 46th World Gymnastics Championships.

That will see the world's top gymnasts attending one of the biggest sporting events ever held in the UK.

The competition in October in the Hydro will involve 10 days of top level competition bringing together more than 500 gymnasts from 80 nations including the USA, China, Japan and Russia.

As a qualification event for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, every gymnast will aim to be at their very best in Glasgow.

Organisers say the global television audience will be about 800 million meaning once again the eyes of the world will be focused on the city and what we have to offer.

As council leader Gordon Matheson said: "If you thought the gymnastics competition at last year's Commonwealth Games was good then you haven't seen anything yet."

For Glasgow to feature as host of a series of such prestigious sporting events can only help strengthen our position in the world spotlight.

It is global promotion other cities around the world can only dream of and justifies the city council's multi-million pound investment in sporting facilities.

It is no coincidence that a new hotel opens near the SECC today and that two others will open in the coming weeks providing an extra 400 rooms at an investment of around £20million.

Developers will only spend money if they are pretty certain of making a profit so it can only be good news for the city that hotel chains now see Glasgow as an ideal location for new ventures.