PRINCESS Anne will help to celebrate one of Scotland’s most famous sportsmen as a patron of the Eric Liddell Centenary Initiative.
100 years on from his storied gold medal win in the Paris Olympics in 1924, Edinburgh-based charity the Eric Liddell Community are seeking to commemorate his life and work further ahead of the next Games.
These efforts will be helped by The Princess Royal’s involvement, after she visited the Community’s base a fortnight ago.
A plaque was unveiled to mark Princess Anne’s visit following a tour of the building which offers one of Edinburgh’s few dementia day care facilities.
Popularly known through the award-winning film Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell broke the world record in the 440 yards in the 1924 Olympics.
This came after he refused to compete in the 100 yards event he was expected to win, due to his religious beliefs and the race being held on a Sunday.
With a century soon to pass, and the Olympics once again bound for the French capital, a number of high-profile events are being planned to ensure Liddell’s legacy.
Eric Liddell Community CEO John MacMillan said: “I was honoured to have the privilege of meeting The Princess Royal and showing her around the Community and some of the services we provide.
“It is great to know that she supports our 2024 plans and that she will be involved in the future.
“Our international ties with organisations all over the world that celebrate Eric’s life and legacy have grown and so the idea came to mark the centenary of his legendary win at the Paris Olympics in 1924 at the Paris Olympics in 2024.”
Princess Anne will head up a group of people across business, education, government and sport in planning events to celebrate all that the Scottish athlete achieved.
A multi-sport competitor, Liddell was also capped seven times for Scottish rugby and was inducted into their hall of fame in January.
Born in China to missionary parents, he retains a strong link to multiple parts of the world, including America, Hong Kong and Canada.
Liddell died at the age of 43 of a brain tumour in his birth country, after refusing to leave a Japanese camp during the Second World War in order to help locals.
MacMillan continued: “We will announce more details as they become available and I can only say that I have been astonished by the calibre and interest of the people who want to be involved in making this happen.”
