Commonwealth Games 2010: The historical legacy and modern challenges

By Dr. Eugene DSouza, Moodubelle
Pictures from various media sources
Bellevision Media Network

01 October 2010: In spite of all the controversy revolving around the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi scheduled to begin from 3rd October to 14th October 2010, the preparations for the Games are nearly over and the nation is awaiting for the grand opening ceremony on 3rd October 2010 and the athletics and sports competitions to begin from 4th October and closing ceremony on 14th October 2010. As India is hosting these prestigious Commonwealth Games for the first time, it would be worthwhile to know about the origin and evolution of the Commonwealth Games.

 

 

The historical Legacy:
The origin of the Commonwealth Games can be traced to the year 1891 when Reverend Ashley Cooper in an article in ‘The Times’ for the first time put forward an idea that in order to bring the members of the British Empire together and to increase the goodwill and understanding between them, every four years a sporting competition should be organized. However, for some time this suggestion of Reverend Ashley Cooper remained only a dream.

 

The first attempt to organize some kind of a festive sporting event among the Dominions of the British Empire was made in 1911, when the Festival of the Empire was held in London on the occasion of the celebration of the Coronation of King George V. As part of the festival an Inter-Empire Championship was held in which besides the United Kingdom, other Dominions such as Australia, Canada and South Africa competed with each other in sporting events such as athletics, boxing, wrestling and swimming.

 

A serious thought to the original suggestion of Reverend Ashley Cooper was given in 1928, when Melville Marks Robinson of Canada was asked to organise the first ever British Empire Games. After preliminary preparations, the first British Empire Games were held at Hamilton, Ontario in Canada two years later in 1930. Eleven countries participated in this first British Empire Games.

 

Thereafter, every four years these British Empire Games came to be held in different cities of the British Empire spread across the world. However, during the Second World War the British Empire Games were interrupted and the 1942 and 1946 these games were abandoned.

 

The British Empire Games were resumed in 1950 and four years later in 1954 the games were renamed as the British Empire and Commonwealth Games as a number of former colonies of the British Empire including India having won independence decided to continue their association with the British Empire and thus came to be known as the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

The British Empire and Commonwealth Games being a lengthy nomenclature, the 1970 and 1974 games just came to be known as the ‘British Commonwealth Games’ and in the year 1978 for the games held at Edmonton, Canada, the present nomenclature ‘Commonwealth Games’ (CWG) came to be used. In these Games around 1,500 athletes from 46 countries took part.

 

Though the Commonwealth Games in 1986 suffered from the boycott call given by some of the African and Caribbean nations in protest against the apartheid policy of South Africa due to which only 26 countries participated, the Games gradually picked up and became popular as a result of which 55 countries participated in the 1990 Commonwealth Games at Auckland, New Zealand and 64 countries in 1994 in Victoria, Canada.

 

The 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia witnessed the introduction of new team sports competitions such as cricket (50 over), hockey (men and women), netball (women) and Rugby Sevens (men) which increased the number from 10 to 15. Nearly 3,500 athletes from 70 countries participated in Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.

 

In 2002, the Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England. Seventy two Commonwealth countries with a total of 3,679 athletes and sportspersons participated in this multi-sporting event. These Games had an added significance in 2002 as the Head of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty the Queen of England, Elizabeth II celebrated the Golden Jubilee of her coronation. For the first time in the Games history, a number of Para-Sports were included in a fully inclusive Sports Programme in Manchester 2002.

 

Melbourne, Australia took its turn in hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2006 with around 4500 athletes from 71 nations competing in 16 sports with 24 disciplines. Melbourne was the fourth Australian city to host the Commonwealth Games, after Sydney in 1938, Perth in 1962 and Brisbane in 1982. The Commonwealth Games were opened with a grand ceremony at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) with holding capacity of 100,000 spectators, which was also the site of the Game’s track and field events, and the closing ceremony.

 

Three members of the Commonwealth of Nations have hosted the games the most number of times. These are Australia-four times ( 1938-Sydney, 1962-Perth, 1982-Brisbane, 2006-Melbourne); Canada-four times (130-Hamilton, 1954-Vancour, 1978-Edmonton, 1994-Victoria); New Zealand-three times (1950-Auckalnd, 1974-Christ Church, 1990-Auckalnd). Besides these countries United Kingdom had hosted the Commonwealth five times (1934-London, 1958-Cardiff, 1970-Edinburgh, 1986-Edinburgh, 2002-Manchester). Two cities-Auckland and Edinburgh had the privilege of hosting the Commonwealth games twice each.

 

2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi:
The Commonwealth Games at Delhi to be held from 3rd to 14th October 2010 are the Nineteenth Commonwealth Games and ninth to be held under that name. This is for the first time that the Commonwealth Games are being held in India and second time in Asia following those held in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. India had previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982.

 

 

It was in November 2003 at the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly in Montego Bay, Jamaica that India successfully won the bid to host the Nineteenth Commonwealth Games against Hamilton, Ontario-Canada by a margin of 46 votes to 22. Canada was bidding to hold the games for the fifth time in that country. While bidding for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, India had put forward the motto of “New frontiers and Friendships”.

 

 

The official mascot chosen for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games is ‘Shera’ an anthropomorphised tiger. The famous Indian Musician, A.R. Rahman has composed and performed the official song of the 2010 Commonwealth Games titled “Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto” based on the slogan of the games, “Come out and Play”. The lyrics of the song have been written by Mehboob and this song was released on 28th August 2010.

 

 

The Queens Baton Relay is one of the greatest traditions of the Commonwealth Games, having been the curtain-raiser to every Games since Cardiff, United Kingdom in 1958. The relay symbolises the gathering of people from across the Commonwealth at the four-yearly festival of sport and culture.

 

 

The Baton Relay for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games was launched on 29th October 2009 at Buckingham Palace in London, with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II handing the Baton to the Honourable President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, who in turn passed it to M. S Gill-the Sports Minister of India and Suresh Kalmadi the Chairman of the Organizing Committe. Suresh Kalmadi then had the honour of passing the Baton to the first Baton bearer, Abhinav Bindra, the Olympic air rifle champion who began the Baton’s journey with a relay around the Queen Victoria Monument. The first team of Baton bearers included: Lord Sebastian Coe, Kapil Dev, Sania Mirza, Milka Singh, Dame Kelly Holmes, Vijender Kumar and Susan Gilroy to name just a few.

 

 

The Queen’s Baton, after travelling through 71 Commonwealth nations had arrived in India on 25th June 2010 through the Wagah Border from Pakistan. Since then it has touring all the 28 states of India. It will be taken to its final destination, the Jawaharlal Neru Stadium for the Opening Ceremony of the Nineteenth Commonwealth Games on 3rd October 2010, where Her Majesty’s message will be read out to the athletes.

 

 

Seventy two nations have agreed to send their teams to the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. Fiji will not be participating in these games as it has been suspended from the Commonwealth. On the other hand, Rwanda being admitted into the Commonwealth of Nations in 2009 will be participating in these games.

 

Leaving all the controversies aside, the opening ceremony of the Nineteenth Commonwealth Games 2010 at Delhi is scheduled to take place in the evening of 3rd October 2010 in one of the largest stadiums of Delhi, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 70,000 spectators. The opening ceremony is expected to commence at 7 pm and will continue for about two and a half hours which will be a gala event showcasing the art and culture of India.

 

 

The dignitaries attending the opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games will include President Pratibha Patil who will be the Chief Guest at the CWG Opening Ceremony, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Prince Charles, as representative of Commonwealth head-Queen Elizabeth II, Mike Fennell- the Commonwealth Games Federation President and the Organizing Committee Chairman- Suresh Kalmadi.

 

The Queen’s Baton will be received by Prince Charles, who will also read Queen Elizabeth’s message. President Pratibha Patil will then deliver her address and signal the commencement of the Games.

 

 

The opening ceremony has been planned by a core creative group led by Javed Akhtar, Shyam Benegal, Prasoon Joshi, Bharat Bala and Wizcraft, keeping the Indian culture and heritage in mind. Musician A.R. Rahman will give two performances, including a powerhouse segment on Mahatma Gandhi. Around 7,000 performers will perform and regale the audiences for two and a half hours. They will be joined by 800 dancers, who will present classical dance performances choreographed by Sonal Mansingh, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Raja and Radha Reddy.

 

The folk dance segment will be performed by 750 dancers from all over India. A troupe of 100 dancers, choreographed by Santosh Shetty, Devendra Shilav, Bansi Kaul, Kalpesh and Shiamik Dawar will put up a performance. Around 800 drummers are expected to perform during the opening ceremony. It is expected that the opening ceremony will be graced by many of the Bollywood personalities and celebrities from the field of politics, sports and media. Impressive fireworks will light up the skyline and will add to the excitement of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.

 

Following the Opening Ceremony of the Nineteenth Commonwelath Games on 3rd October 2010, around 7,000 athletes and sportsmen that are expected to participate in the 2010 Commonwealth Games will compete for the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in 17 sporting events that include: Aquatics, Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball, Rugby Seven, Shooting, Squash, Table tennis, Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling.

 

Kabaddi will be a demonstration sports at the 2010 CWG. However, the Triathlon will be excluded from these games as there is no suitable location for the swimming stage. Similarly, Basketball and Twety20 Cricket will not form part of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

 

For the sports buffs, there will be a bonanza of excitement from 3rd October to 14th October 2010. However, with the rumours of some of the famous players withdrawing from the games on security and health pretext may dampen their enthusiasm. Putting back, though not forgetting all the controversies about the corruption, nepotism and lack of preparedness in time, let the nation enjoy one of the greatest sporting event that will be unfolding from 3rd October 2010 and redeem our ‘national pride’.