2010 Commonwealth Games


The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 4352 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games to date. It was also the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhi and India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event.
It was the first time that the Commonwealth Games were held in India and the second time they were held in Asia after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998. The official mascot of the Games was
Shera and the official song of the Games, "Jiyo Utho Badho Jeeto", was composed by Academy and Grammy awardee Indian recording artist A.R. Rahman.
Preparation for the Games received widespread international media attention, with criticism being levelled against the organisers for the slow pace of work, as well as issues related to security and hygiene. In spite of threats of boycotts and athlete withdrawals however, all member nations of the Commonwealth of Nations participated in the event, with the exceptions of Fiji, which is suspended from the Commonwealth, and Tokelau, which didn't send a team.
The internationally acclaimed opening ceremony improved the image of the Games, and dispelled negative notions surrounding them, with many observers remarking that they began on an apprehensive note, but were an exceptional experience with a largely positive ending. The President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, said that India had made a good foundation for a future Olympics bid, which was reiterated by the Australian Minister of Sports. Commonwealth games Federation chief Mike Fennell stated that "Delhi delivered a fantastic Games". Some observers accused sections of the media of bias, unfair expectations, and negative reporting.
The final medal tally was led by Australia with 74 golds and 177 most medals overall. The host nation India achieved its best performance ever at the Commonwealth Games, finishing second overall by winning 38 golds and 101 total medals.

Host selection

Delhi was selected as the host city of the 2010 Commonwealth Games on 14 November 2003 during the CGF General Assembly in Montego Bay, Jamaica, defeating bid from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. India's bid motto was New Frontiers and Friendships.
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. The successful 2003 Afro-Asian Games held in Hyderabad was also seen as having shown that India has the resources, infrastructure and technical know-how to stage a big sporting event. Meanwhile, Hamilton struggled with the notion a country would not be awarded two major multi-sport events in the same year, after Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics earlier in the year.
Delhi bid for the 1990 and 1994 Commonwealth Games but lost to Auckland and Victoria respectively. The Hamilton bid was Canada's attempt to hold the games for the fifth time.
CityCountryVotes
Delhi India46
Hamilton Canada22

Development and preparation

Organising committee

The organisation of 2010 Commonwealth Games 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. Singh also called for a revamp of the games' organising committees: 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. In spite of delays and the corruption cases levied on the organisers, commentators stated that they were confident that India will successfully host the games and do so on time.
At the launch of the Queen's Baton Relay in October 2009, the Business Club of India was formed through the partnership of the organising committee, the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The BCI was formed to both market the Games and promote Indian business interests internationally.

Venues

Events took place at 12 competition venues. A total of 20 training venues were used in the Games. Of these 20, one was used for archery; three for aquatics; two for lawn bowls; two for netball; eight for rugby sevens, including seven venues within Delhi University; two for shooting; one for squash; two for table tennis; one for weightlifting, three for wrestling and two for tennis.
A total of five venues were newly constructed for the event; the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, the Siri Fort Sports Complex, the Thyagaraj Sports Complex, the Yamuna Sports Complex as well as a rugby sevens facility in Delhi University Stadium. This does not include the two venues—the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium—that received major renovations or an uplift. All other venues had existed prior to the event. The largest venue was the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, with a capacity of 60,000, was the main venue of the event, hosting both the opening and the closing ceremonies. On the other hand, the Central Reserve Police Force Shooting Range located in Kadarpur had the smallest seating capacity, at 345.
There were three main non-competition venues in the event, besides the Commonwealth Games Village; namely the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Headquarters, the Main Media Centre, and the Games Family Hotel, Hotel Ashok.

Commonwealth Games Village

The Commonwealth Games Village provided accommodation and training for athletes of the Games, and was opened from 23 September to 18 October 2010. It is located along the east bank of the River Yamuna, in proximity to competition and training venues as well as city landmarks, and is spread over an area of. Comprising five main zones—the Residential Zone, the International Zone, the Training Area, the Main Dining and the Operational Zone—the Games Village, which was a non-smoking zone, was universally accessible particularly to accommodate para-sport athletes. 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 were provided. The Games Village accommodated over 8,000 athletes and officials for the Games.

Budget

The initial total budget estimated by the Indian Olympic Association in 2003 for hosting the Games was. In 2010, however, the official total budget soon escalated to an estimated, a figure which excluded non-sports-related infrastructure development. Business Today magazine estimated that the Games cost. The 2010 Commonwealth Games was reportedly the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever.

Transport

A four-lane flyway, stretch from Lodi Road to trans-Yamuna, linking the Games Village to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was constructed which reduced the travelling time between the village and the Stadium to six minutes.
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 have been completed. To expand road infrastructure, flyovers, cloverleaf flyovers, and bridges were built to improve links for the Games and city in general. Road-widening projects were finished with an emphasis being placed on expanding national highways. To improve traffic flow on existing roads, plans were made to make both the inner and outer Ring roads signal free.
To support its commitment to mass transport, nine corridors have been identified and were constructed as High Capacity Bus Systems. Six of these corridors were expected to be operational in 2010. Additionally, The Delhi Metro was expanded to accommodate more people and boost the use of public transport during the event. The metro has extended to Gurgaon and the Noida area. For this large increase in the size of the network, Delhi Metro had deployed 14 tunnel boring machines. Radio Frequency Identification was used to tag vehicles in venue parking lots to help organise mass parking and increase security.
Indira Gandhi International Airport was modernised, expanded, and upgraded. Costing nearly $1.95 billion, Terminal 3 has increased airport passenger capacity to more than 37 million passengers a year by 2010. A new runway has been constructed, allowing for more than 75 flights an hour. At more than 4400 metres long, it is one of Asia's longest. The airport has been connected to the city via a six-lane expressway and the $580 million Delhi Airport Metro Express line.

Green Games

The organisers signed a Memorandum of Understanding 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. 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. 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".
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. 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.