The
2010 Commonwealth Games is the nineteenth
Commonwealth Games, and the ninth to be held under that name. The Games are being held in
Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010, the largest
multi-sport event conducted to date in Delhi and India, which hosted the
Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The
opening ceremony took place on 3 October at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event. This marks the first time the Commonwealth Games have been held in India and the second time the event has been held in Asia (after the
1998 in
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia).
The preparations for the games received criticism in news media due to issues including heavy rains and floods, infrastructural compromise, preparation delays (in particular, that of
the Games Village[1][2]), the withdrawal of prominent athletes,
[3] and allegations of widespread corruption.
[4] However no nations withdrew and the games started on schedule. A widely-praised
opening ceremony helped improve the image of the games.
[5][6] India received praise from nations that had earlier criticized its preparations
[7], and a remark from
International Olympic Committee president
Jacques Rogge that India had set a good foundation for a future
Olympics bid.
[8] After the progress of the first few days of competition in various disciplines, the focus has returned to sport.
Bidding
The two principal bids for the 2010 Commonwealth Games were from Delhi, India and
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A ballot of members was held in November 2003 at the
Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly in
Montego Bay,
Jamaica. Delhi bid won by a margin of 46 votes to 22, confirming India's first successful bid for the Games. The bid was Canada's attempt to hold the games for the fifth time.
[9][10][11] India's bid motto was
New Frontiers and Friendships.
[12]
India shifted the balance in its favour in the second round of voting with a promise that it would provide US$100,000 to each participating country, along with air tickets, boarding, lodging and transport.
[13] The successful
2003 Afro-Asian Games held in Hyderabad was also seen as having showed India has the resources, infrastructure and technical know-how to stage a big sporting event. India also thanked Latif Butt, former vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia, for his support in the winning bid, by saying, "You played a vital role in the Commonwealth Games 2010 being allotted to India. Such actions are worthy of emulation by all concerned in Pakistan and India. I have no doubt that if both sides continue to live by such ideals, one day, sooner than later our generations to come will reap the benefits of and be grateful to those making such contributions. You would certainly be such person."
[12] The Indian government stated that it would underwrite the total cost of the Games.
[14]
Organisation
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Organising committee
The organisation was beset by delays: in January 2010, the Indian Olympic Association vice-chairman Raja Randhir Singh expressed concern that Delhi was not up to speed in forming and organising its games committee and, following a 2009
Indian Government report showing two thirds of venues were behind schedule,
Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell stated that the slow progress of preparations represented a serious risk to the event.
[15] Singh called for a revamp of the games' organising committees:
[16] Jarnail Singh, a former Secretary of the Government of India, was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and
Indian Olympic Association president
Suresh Kalmadi was appointed as head of the committee.
[17] In spite of delays and the corruption cases levied on the organisors, commentators stated that they were confident that India will successfully host the games and do so on time.
[18][19]
At the launch of the Queen’s Baton Relay in October 2009, the Business Club of India (BCI) was formed through the partnership of the organising committee, the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The BCI was formed to both market the Games and promote Indian business interests internationally.
[20]
Costs
The initial total budget estimated by
Indian Olympic Association in 2003 for hosting the Games was
1,620 crore (US$358 million) but escalated official total budget estimation in 2010 became
11,494 crore (US$2.5 billion), which excludes non-sports-related infrastructure development in the city such as airports, city beautification and roads.
[21] Business Today magazine estimated that the Games cost exceeded original expectations
70,000 crore (US$15.47 billion).
[22] The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever.
[23]
Transport
Delhi proposed a four-lane, 2.2 km underground stretch from
Lodhi Road to trans-Yamuna, linking the
Games Village to the
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and reducing travelling time between the
village and the Stadium to six minutes.
Delhi–Gurgaon Expressway, Delhi
In response to concerns over the large number of trains that pass by the Delhi metropolitan region daily, construction of road under-bridges and over-bridges along railway lines has been started. To expand road infrastructure, flyovers, cloverleaf flyovers, and bridges have been planned to improve links for the Games and city in general. Road-widening projects have begun with an emphasis being placed on expanding national highways. To improve traffic flow on existing roads, plans are underway to make both the inner and outer Ring roads signal free.
To support its commitment to mass transport, nine corridors have been identified and are being constructed as High Capacity Bus Systems (for example, one from Ambedkar Nagar to
Red Fort). Six of these corridors are expected to be operational in 2010. Additionally, The
Delhi Metro will be expanded to accommodate more people and boost the use of public transport during the 2010 games. The metro will extend to
Gurgaon and the
Noida area. For this large increase in the size of the network, Delhi Metro will deploy 14
tunnel boring machines.
[24]
Indira Gandhi International Airport is being modernised, expanded, and upgraded. Costing nearly US$ 1.95 billion,
Terminal 3 has improved airport passenger capacity to more than 37 million passengers a year by 2010. A new runway has been constructed, allowing for over 75 flights an hour and – at over 4400 metres long – it will be one of Asia's longest.
The airport will be connected to the city via a six-lane expressway (
Delhi–Gurgaon Expressway) and the $580 million
Delhi Airport Metro Express line.
[25]
Green Games
Logo for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games being recognised as the first ever "Green Commonwealth Games"
The organisers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Environment Programme to show the intention to host a "sustainable games" and to take the environment into consideration when constructing and renovating venues. Thyagaraj Stadium is intended to be a key example of environmentally considered construction.
In opposition to this intention, a number of environmental controversies arose and the adverse ecological impact of various aspects of the games have been protested by city residents.
[26][27] City residents filed a public interest petition to the
Supreme Court of India against the felling of 'heritage' trees in the
Siri Fort area to make way for Games facilities. The court appointed architect
Charles Correa to assess the impact and he severely criticised the designs on ecological grounds.
[28] In spite of this, in April 2009 the Supreme Court allowed the construction on the grounds that "much time had been lost" and "the damage already caused to the environment could not be undone".
[29][30]
The Commonwealth Games village, located on the flood plains of the
Yamuna, has also been the subject of controversies about the flouting of ecological norms.
[31] After a prolonged legal battle between city residents and the state, construction was permitted to continue on the basis of an order of the Supreme Court of India in July 2009, which held that the government had satisfied the requirements of "due process of the law" by issuing public notice of its intention to begin construction work in September 1999 (a date four years prior to the acceptance of Delhi's bid for the games).
[32]
Other preparation
In preparation for an influx of English-speaking tourists for the Games, the Delhi government is implementing a program to teach English, and the necessary skills for serving tourists, to key workers – such as cab drivers, security workers, waiters, porters, and service staff. In the two years prior to the Games 2,000 drivers were taught English. The program aims to teach 1,000 people English per month in the hope of reaching all key workers by March 2010. In addition to Delhi, the Indian Government plans to expand the program to teach people in local tourist destinations in other parts of India.
[33]
To prepare for the energy-usage spike during the Games and to end chronic
power cuts in
Delhi, the government is undertaking a large power-production initiative to increase power production to 7,000 MW (from the current 4,500 MW). To achieve this goal, the government plans to streamline the power distribution process, direct additional energy to Delhi, and construct new power plants. In fact, the government has promised that by the end of 2010, Delhi will have a surplus of power.
[34]
In addition to physical preparation, India will offer free accommodation for all athletes at the
Games Village, as well as free transport and other benefits, such as a free trip to the famed
Taj Mahal and a reserved lane for participants on selected highways.
[35] The
Games Village will house over 8,000 athletes and officials for the Games. Indian states will train state police forces to handle tourist-related issues and deploy them prior to the Games. A large-scale construction and "beautification" project has resulted in the demolition of hundreds of homes and the displacement of city dwellers – at least 100,000 of New Delhi’s 160,000 homeless people have removed from shelters, some of which have been demolished.
[36][37] Bamboo screens have been erected around city slums to separate visitors from the sights of the slums,
[38] a practice which human rights campaigners have deemed dishonest and immoral.
[39]
The
Delhi High Court is set to implement a series of "mobile courts" to be dispatched throughout Delhi to relocate migrant beggars from Delhi streets. The mobile courts would consider each beggar on a case-by-case basis to determine whether the beggar should be sent back to his/her state of residence, or be permitted to remain in government-shelters.
[40]
Symbols
Mascot
Shera, the mascot for the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Main article:
Shera (mascot)The official mascot for the 2010 Commonwealth Games is
Shera, an
anthropomorphised tiger.
[41] His name comes from "Sher", a
hindi word meaning tiger (Hindi "Bagh" means tiger. However, Sher is colloquially used for both lion and tiger). The logo and the look for the games were designed by
Idiom Design and Consulting.There is one song for Shera also composed by the popular composer of INDIA the song contains initiative "Shera Shera"
[42]
The mascot Shera is visiting many schools across Delhi to create enthusiasm and interest for the Commonwealth Games being held .
Official song
The official song of the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto was composed and performed by the
Indian musician
A. R. Rahman.
[43] The song's title is based on the slogan of the games, "Come out and play". The song is penned by
Mehboob in Hindi with a sprinkling of English words. It was released on 28 August 2010. The music video, directed by
Bharath Bala was released on 23 September and featured a shorter version of the song. A. R. Rahman also gave a live concert for the theme song in Gurgaon , Haryana which was previewed on various news channels . The official video of the song has been released on youtube .
Queen's Baton relay
The
Queen's Baton Relay began when the baton, which contains
Queen Elizabeth II's message to the athletes, left
Buckingham Palace on 29 October 2009. The baton arrived at the 2010 Games opening ceremony on 3 October 2010, after visiting the other 54 nations of the Commonwealth and travelling throughout India, reaching millions of people to join in the celebrations for the Games.The baton arrived in India on 25 June 2010 through the Wagah Border crossing from Pakistan.
[44]
The baton was designed by Michael Foley, a graduate of the National Institute of Design.
[45] It is a triangular section of aluminium twisted into a
helix shape and then coated with coloured soils collected from all the regions of India. The coloured soils are a first for the styling of a Queen's Baton. A jewel-encrusted box was used to house the Queen's message, which was laser-engraved onto a miniature 18 carat gold leaf – representative of the ancient Indian 'patras. The Queen's baton is ergonomically contoured for ease of use. It is 664 millimetres (26.1 in) high, 34 millimetres (1.3 in) wide at the base, and 86 millimetres (3.4 in) wide at the top and weighs 1,900 grams (67 oz).
The Queen's baton has a number of technological features including:
- The ability to capture images and sound
- Global positioning system (GPS) technology so the baton's location can be tracked
- Embedded light emitting diodes (LEDs) which will change into the colours of a country’s flag whilst in that country
- A text messaging capability so that people can send messages of congratulations and encouragement to the baton bearers throughout the relay
Calendar
The official calendar for the 2010 Commonwealth Games is as follows:
[46]
| ● | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | ● | Closing ceremony |
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held at the
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event, in
New Delhi, India. It began at 7:00 PM (
IST) on 3 October 2010 ending at 11:00 PM (IST) displaying India's varied culture in a plethora of cultural showcases. It was watched live by a global audience of around three billion.
[47]
Prince Charles,
Prince of Wales (representing
Queen Elizabeth II as
Head of the Commonwealth) and
President of India Pratibha Patil officially declared the Games open.
[48] Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh of the host nation, India, attended the opening ceremony as well.
A total of three
heads of state from outside India attended the opening ceremony; two from
Commonwealth nations and one from a non-Commonwealth nation. The three head of states are
Mohamed Nasheed,
President of the Maldives,
Marcus Stephen,
President of Nauru, and Prince
Albert II of Monaco, whose country Monaco is not a member of the Commonwealth.
[49] As well,
Sir Anand Satyanand, the
Governor General of New Zealand (the first of Indian descent), and a multiple Commonwealth gold medallist, attended the ceremony.
[50]
Sports
There are 17 sports planned for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Kabaddi is a demonstration sport at the Games.
[51]
Triathlon was excluded from the games as there was no suitable location for the swimming stage.
[citation needed] The organisers have also removed
basketball, but included
archery,
tennis,
billiards,
wrestling and
snooker for men.
Cricket, although in strong demand, did not make a come-back as the
Board of Control for Cricket in India were not keen on a
Twenty20 tournament, and the organisers did not want a
one day tournament.
[52]
Medal table
Host nation (India)
Participating nations
There are 71 nations participating at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As
Fiji is suspended from the
Commonwealth, it has been banned from participating in the Games.
[54] Rwanda is fielding a team for the games for the first time after becoming a Commonwealth member in 2009.
[55] Numbers of athletes are shown in brackets.
Countries marked by a (*) have not confirmed their entire teams, and only entries on the official website are listed below.
Tokelau was initially expected to compete, but did not do so.
INDIA 2010 Commonwealth Games
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