LONDON had the Olympic Games, and Glasgow will have the Commonwealth Games. But Campbeltown will have fun and games all year round with the opening of the town’s new all-weather sports pitch.

Argyll and Bute Council’s new facility, next to Campbeltown’s Aqualibrium leisure centre, will kick off with a festival of sport on Friday 21 September – with the town’s young people swarming the pitch and trying out a whole range of sports including football, shinty, hockey, rugby and athletics.

As well as a brand-new surface to play on, they’ll be able to get some top tips from some of Argyll and Bute’s finest young sporting ambassadors who will also be there on the day.

After the young sportsmen and women have thoroughly tested the new pitch, they will break for lunch before the official opening ceremony. This will start with a procession led by Kintyre Schools Pipe Band before the ceremonial ribbon is cut by the visiting athletes.

Local politicians will be in attendance, joined by Louise Martin CBE, chair of sportscotland and other invited guests.

Argyll and Bute Council’s lead councillor for sport, Douglas Philand, said: “This is a fantastic new amenity for Campbeltown and I hope to see our young people making the most of all it has to offer.

“We have a long tradition of sporting success in Argyll and Bute and I hope that by providing top class facilities like this, we will go on to produce many more generations of sporting stars.”

The Aqualibrium all weather pitch and pavilion festival of sport will kick off at 11am on Friday 21 September, with the official opening ceremony at 1pm.

This will be followed by a tour of the facilities, including the Kit and Caboodle football exhibition currently on display in Campbeltown museum, and an exhibition football match on the new pitch.