Paul Bush OBE

Paul Bush OBE was VisitScotland’s Director of Events until September 2024, leading the EventScotland Team, Business Events and Industry Development for nearly 20 years.  EventScotland takes a strategic lead in the Scottish events industry and is responsible for working with partners to attract, bid for and secure major sporting, cultural and business events.  

Over the past decade Paul has been at the forefront of bringing some of the world’s biggest event properties to the country, including The Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games in 2014, World Gymnastics Championships 2015, World Orienteering Championships 2015, the MTV Music Awards on two occasions, the inaugural multi-sport European Championships 2018, The Solheim Cup and BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2019, UEFA EURO 2020, five golf ‘majors’ in 2022 including the 150th Open Championship, the 2023 the  UCI Cycling World Championships and the World Athletics Indoor Championships in 2024.

Paul moved to Scotland in 1998 to become Chief Executive of Scottish Swimming, where he worked closely with the University of Stirling to develop the state-of-the-art National Swimming Academy. Alongside the facility, he built a professional coaching and performance management structure for the sport which has led to significant international success which continues to this day.

Paul has been heavily involved in the Commonwealth Games movement in Scotland serving as General Team Manager in 2002, which was the springboard for Scotland’s ambition to host the Games in 2014.  He was Chef de Mission for the 2006 Scottish Commonwealth Games team which won 29 medals to become the most successful Scottish team ever at that time. He was subsequently awarded an OBE in the 2007 Queen’s New Year Honours List for Services to Commonwealth Sport.

Having been on the Commonwealth Games Scotland Board for four years as an independent non-executive Director, he was appointed Chair in May 2015 and reappointed in May 2019 for a second four-year term.

In 2023 he became Chair of British Curling.

Paul is now using his extensive experience as a management consutant in the sport and events industry and most recently led the successful UK bid to host the Grand Depart of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes 2027.