HALF a million people got involved in events linked to the inaugural European Championships in Glasgow, organisers have claimed.

Glasgow 2018 saw the city host six sports – aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, golf, rowing and triathlon – over 11 days of competition in August, while Berlin staged the athletics.

It was the biggest sporting event hosted in Glasgow since the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Organisers of the championships, which drew to a close on Sunday, said more than 500,000 people – double the projected number – attended a sports session or one of the associated cultural events.

Some 138,000 tickets were issued to spectators for sporting events.

Meanwhile, George Square was said to have attracted tens of thousands of people with events such as a mass ceilidh.