THIS year, Glasgow plays host to the inaugural European Championships, an exciting new event bringing together some of the continent’s leading athletes for an 11-day extravaganza of sport.

As part of the championships’ wider celebrations, the city will see a series of small-scale cultural projects and arts activity in the lead up to the games. Titled ‘The Festival 2018 Our Place Fund’, the scheme invites local organisations to propose community-led projects built on artistic and inspirational merits, with the public voting for their favourite entries.     

In anticipation of this summer’s games, we are calling on supporters to back Celtic FC Foundation’s submission by voting for our initiative: ‘Faces of the Foundation’.

‘Faces of the Foundation’ will see attendees from 10 existing Celtic FC Foundation projects engage in a mass-participation creative arts event. Encompassing 80 participants from across our project portfolio, ‘Faces of the Foundation’ asks each participant to create an A3 sized, self-drawn portrait.

The project will culminate in a celebratory showcase of artwork at Celtic Park with a pop-up art gallery displaying images on The Celtic Way pre-match between June 30 and August 12 (fixture TBC).

Encompassing a wide variety of backgrounds and profiles, participants will range from children and young people to the elderly as well as those living with disabilities (physical and learning). Participant-drawn self-portraits will also include contributions from ex-offenders, individuals experiencing unemployment and socio-economic disadvantage, and those living with mental health issues.

*You can vote online for Celtic FC Foundation’s ‘Faces of the Foundation’ project HERE 

Supporters will also have the opportunity to vote in person at a designated ‘Share and Decide’ event, taking place from 11am-4pm on Saturday, March 10 at Glasgow City Chambers.

Speaking ahead of the vote, Celtic FC Foundation Chief Executive, Tony Hamilton, said: “This summer’s European Championships marks an exciting time for Glasgow and Celtic FC Foundation is keen to highlight those who embody the spirit of our communities.  

“Our ‘Faces of the Foundation’ concept intends to demonstrate the breadth, scale and diversity of the people we work alongside – and with your vote, we can make this a reality.”

*You are required to sign in with your name and postcode to vote. You can do this online on any home computer or smartphone to place your votes. Online voting will take place from February 6 until March 9, 2018.