Sir Robert David Hillyer Scott (born 22 January 1944) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

businessman in South London who is noted for his involvement with the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

. Scott was Chairman of the Manchester Olympic Bid Committee's unsuccessful bids in 1996 and 2000, as well as the successful November 1995 bid to play host to the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

. Scott was knighted in

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other ...

Early life and education

Scott was born in Minehead,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, the eldest son of diplomat Sir

David Aubrey Scott Sir David Aubrey Scott (3 August 1919 – 27 December 2010) was a British diplomat who served as High Commissioner to New Zealand and Ambassador to South Africa. Early life Scott was the elder son of Hugh Sumner Scott who was a schoolmaster at We ...

and Vera Kathleen Ibbitson. He has a younger brother, Andrew, and a sister, Diana, married Sir Brian Unwin. Timothy Frank Siward Scott was his uncle. He attended

Haileybury and Imperial Service College Haileybury is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) near Hertford in England. It is a member of the Rugby Group and, though originally a major boys' public school in the Victorian era, it is now co-educational, enrol ...

and Merton College, Oxford where he studied dramatic arts.

Career

Scott became Administrator of the 69 Theatre Company in Manchester in 1968. He later became Administrator of the Royal Exchange Theatre Trust. As Managing Director of Manchester Theatres Limited he revived two major theatres in the city – the Palace (1981) and Opera House (1984). In 2008, he was appointed Chairman of the European Commission jury to select the European Capital of Culture. He was Chairman of Trinity Laban (from 2005-2012), Greenwich Theatre and South London Business. In June 2003, he led Liverpool’s successful Bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2008, and then was appointed the International Ambassador of the Liverpool Culture Company. In Manchester he is Chairman of the Granada Foundation. He founded Cornerhouse, Manchester. He has been a Governor of the Royal Northern College of Music, a Director of the Buxton Festival, the Halle Orchestra and the Whitworth Art Gallery. He was a Board Member of the Central Manchester Development Corporation from 1988 to 1996.

Recognition

Scott was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

, for services to sport and to the community in Manchester. He has received honorary degrees from Manchester University in 1988 and from Salford University in 1991. He was made an Honorary Fellow of Manchester Polytechnic (1987), UMIST (1988), the Royal Northern College of Music (1990), and received an honorary doctorate by the University of Greenwich (2003) and an Honorary Fellowship by Liverpool John Moores University (2003). He was a deputy lieutenant of the County of Greater Manchester from 1988 to 1997. On 16 July 2010, Sir Bob received his honorary doctorate in arts from Leeds Metropolitan University's Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education.

Personal life

Scott has been married twice. In 1972, he married Su Dalgleish, and had two sons and a daughter before divorcing in 1995. He married secondly to Alicia Tomalino in 1995, and has a further two stepchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Bob 1944 births Living people People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Alumni of Merton College, Oxford People from Minehead Sport in Manchester Culture in Manchester Knights Bachelor People in sports awarded knighthoods 2002 Commonwealth Games