Commonwealth Games 2010

The Commonwealth Games, with motto – Humanity- Equality-Destiny, is multinational sport event. Thousands of athletes representing their countries participate in this event. The member countries of Commonwealth of Nations participate in the games. The Commonwealth games are organized once in every four years. The games are the third largest multi sport event in the world ranking after Summer Olympics and the Asian Games. The games like the Netball, Lawn Bowls and Rugby seven are exclusively played during the Commonwealth games only. The organization named as Commonwealth Games Federation controls this sport event and also plays a major role in selecting the host city for the games. The federation has headquarters at London.

The first Commonwealth Games were held in year 1930 when they were known by the name of British Empire Games. The name was changed to British Empire and Commonwealth Games and then to British Commonwealth Games in year 1970. The games got their present title in the year 1978. There are six countries who have attended all Commonwealth Games. These include Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, New Zealand and Wales. Australia holds the record of being the highest scoring team in the ten Common wealth Games. In 2006, Melbourne city of Australia hosted the Commonwealth Games and the next Commonwealth Games will be hosted by Delhi in year 2010.

There are opening and closing ceremonies for every Commonwealth Games. From the year 1930 to 1950, there used to be a parade of the nations and the parade carried the Union Flag. The year 1958 marked the starting of the relay of participating athletes. A baton is carried from the Buckingham Palace to the place of Opening ceremony. This baton carries a greeting message from queen to all the participating athletes. The host nation marches first in the Parade of the Athletes followed by the other nations in the alphabetical order.

The Commonwealth games federation has approved 31 sports and 7 Para sports for the event. These sports are divided into three main categories – Core, Optional and Recognized. The nineteenth edition of the Commonwealth Games will be held in Delhi, the capital city of India, in year 2010. The games will be held between 3rd October to 14th October. The Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Delhi will host the opening ceremony of the games. This is the second time when any Asian country is hosting the Commonwealth Games. The Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia was the first Asian nation to host the Games in the year 1998.