Paul Bush OBE, the Director of Events at VisitScotland who boasts vast experience in the world of sports administration, joined the Board as Chair of British Curling in February 2023.
As former Chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland, a position he held for eight years, his career also encompassed a successful stint as Chief Executive of Scottish Swimming before he joined EventScotland.
Bush spent seven years as EventScotland’s Chief Operating Officer before moving to his current role in 2013 and was awarded an OBE for services to Commonwealth Sport in the 2007 New Year’s Honours List, having been Chef de Mission to what was the most successful Scotland team at an overseas Commonwealth Games the previous year.
He joined British Curling following the successes of 2022 when it produced the only athletes to win medals for Team GB at the Winter Olympics in Beijing and brings valuable expertise as the organisation looks to build on that with confidence and ambition.
His track record includes securing the funding which brought about the creation of the National Swimming Academy that has housed a renaissance in Scottish swimming and overseeing the feasibility study ahead of Scotland’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
He also led bids that brought the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships, 2018 European Championships and 2019 Solheim Cup to Scotland, has been central to ensuring that Scotland regularly hosts The Open Golf Championship and secured £50 million of funding to bring the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships to Glasgow and Scotland in August 2023.
Away from the sporting arena he also contributed to the delivery of one of Scotland’s most successful tourism projects, Homecoming Scotland and works alongside key events such as Edinburgh Festivals, attracting 4.5million visitors per annum and the world-renowned Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations.
Based in Scotland for the past 26 years, Bush has meanwhile developed a strong understanding of curling’s importance north of the border, as a home-grown sport which boasts the unique status of hosting an Olympic and Paralympic programme in Scotland and can draw on his experience having worked with teams at Olympic, World, and European level with British Swimming.
His track record in directing and leading the major events strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage, which incorporates an emphasis on the benefits of social change, also fits well with British Curling’s broader strategic goals of continuing to pursue inclusivity while raising the profile of the sport across the UK and globally.