The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations.

As well as many Olympic sports, the Games also include some sports that are played mainly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls, rugby sevens and

netball. The Games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which also controls the sporting programme and selects the host cities. The host

city is selected from across the Commonwealth, with eighteen cities in seven countries having hosted it.

The event was first held in 1930 under the title of the British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event was renamed as the British Empire and

Commonwealth Games in 1954, the British Commonwealth Games in 1970, and gained its current title in 1978. Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth

Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Australia has been the highest achieving team for ten games, England for seven and Canada

for one.

There are currently 54 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and 71 teams participate in the Games. The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom – England,

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, and individual teams are also sent from the British Crown dependencies

of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man (unlike at the Olympic Games, where the combined "Great Britain" team represents all four home nations and the Crown

dependencies). Many of the British overseas territories also send their own teams. The Australian external territory of Norfolk Island also sends its own team, as do

the Cook Islands and Niue, two states in free association with New Zealand. It has been reported that Tokelau, another dependency of New Zealand will be sending a

team to the 2010 Games in New Delhi, India.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games are on in New Delhi, India, until October 14.


History

Flag of the British Commonwealth Games.
A sporting competition bringing together the members of the British Empire was first proposed by the Reverend Astley Cooper in 1891 when he wrote an article in

The Times suggesting a "Pan-Britannic-Pan-Anglican Contest and Festival every four years as a means of increasing the goodwill and good understanding of the

British Empire".

In 1911, the Festival of the Empire was held in come London to celebrate the coronation of King George V. As part of the festival an Inter-Empire Championships was

held in which teams from Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom competed in events such as boxing, wrestling, swimming and athletics.

In 1928, Melville Marks Robinson of Canada was asked to organise the first ever British Empire Games. These were held in Hamilton, Canada two years later.

The first Games were held in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The name changed to British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, to British Commonwealth

Games in 1970 and assumed the current name of the Commonwealth Games in 1978.

At the 1930 games, women competed in the swimming events only. From 1934, women also competed in some athletics events.

The Empire Games flag was donated in 1931 by the British Empire Games Association of Canada. The year and location of subsequent games were added until the

1950 games. The name of the event was changed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and the flag was retired as a result.

Commonwealth Winter Games
Commonwealth Youth Games
Traditions

The 2006 relay passing through Wagga Wagga, AustraliaFrom 1930 until 1950, the parade of nations was led by a single flagbearer carrying the Union Flag.
Since 1958, the Queen's Baton Relay has taken place, in which athletes carry a baton from Buckingham Palace to the games opening ceremony. This baton has

within it Queen Elizabeth II's message of greeting to the athletes. The baton's final bearer is usually a famous sporting personage of the host nation.
All other nations march in English alphabetical order, except that the first nation marching in the Parade of Athletes is the host nation of the previous games, and the

host nation of the current games marches last. In 2006 countries marched in alphabetical order in geographical regions.
Three national flags fly from the stadium on the poles that are used for medal ceremonies: Previous host nation, Current host nation, Next host nation.
The military is more active in the Opening Ceremony than in the Olympic Games. This is to honour the British Military traditions of the Old Empire
Editions



The event was briefly known as the British Commonwealth Games for the 1970 and 1974 editions and the 1978 Games, held in Edmonton, Canada, were the first to

be held under the title of the "Commonwealth Games".The Edmonton event marked a new high as almost 1500 athletes from 46 countries took part.

Participation at the 1986 Games was affected by a boycott by some African and Caribbean nations in protest to the participation of New Zealand, following the All

Blacks Rugby tour of Apartheid era South Africa in 1985, but the Games rebounded and continued to grow thereafter. The 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia saw the sporting programme grow from 10 to 15 sports as team sports were allowed for the first time. Participation also reached new levels as over

3500 athletes represented 70 teams at the event. At the most recent Games (in Melbourne, Australia in 2006), over 4000 athletes took part in sporting competitions.[5]

The three nations to have hosted the games the most number of times are Australia (4), Canada (4) and New Zealand (3). Furthermore, five editions have taken place

in the countries within the United Kingdom. Two cities have held the games on multiple occasions: Auckland (1950 and 1990), and Edinburgh (1970 and 1986).


Approved sports..


There are a total of 31 sports (with two multi-disciplinary sports) and a further 7 para-sports which are approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation. They are

categorised into three types. Core sports must be included on each programme. A number of optional sports may be picked by the host nation, which may include

some team sports such as basketball. Recognised sports are sports which have been approved by the CGF but which are deemed to need expansion; host nations

may not pick these sports for their programme until the CGF's requirements are fulfilled.

Sport Type Years
Archery Optional 1982, 2010
Athletics Core 1930–present
Badminton Core 1966–present
Basketball Optional 2006
Billiards Recognised Never
Boxing Core 1930–present
Canoeing Recognised Never
Cricket Recognised 1998
Cycling Optional 1934–present
Diving Optional 1930–present
Fencing Recognised 1950–1970
Golf Recognised Never
Gymnastics
(Artistic and Rhythmic) Optional 1978, 1990–present
Handball Recognised 1930
Hockey Core 1998–present
Judo Optional 1990, 2002, 2014
Lawn bowls Core 1930–present (except 1966)
Life saving Recognised Never
Sport Type Years
Netball Core 1998–present
Rowing Recognised 1930, 1938–62, 1986
Rugby sevens Core 1998–present
Sailing Recognised Never
Shooting Optional 1966, 1974–present
Softball Recognised Never
Squash Core 1998–present
Swimming Core 1930–present
Synchronized swimming Optional 1986, 2006
Table tennis Optional 2002–present
Tennis Optional 2010
Tenpin bowling Recognised 1998
Triathlon Optional 2002, 2006, 2014
Volleyball Recognised Never
Water polo Recognised 1950
Weightlifting Core 1950–present
Wrestling Optional 1930–present (except 1990,1998 and 2006)


Participation
Nations/dependencies that have competed
Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Australia has been the highest scoring

team for ten games, England for seven and Canada for one.

Aden1 1962
Anguilla 1982, 1998–
Antigua and Barbuda 1966–1970, 1978, 1994–
Australia 1930–
Bahamas 1954–1970, 1978–1982, 1990–
Bangladesh 1978, 1990–
Barbados 1954–1966, 1970–1982, 1990–
Belize 1978, 1994–
Bermuda 1930–1938, 1954–1982, 1990–
Botswana 1974, 1982–
British Guiana² 1930–1938, 1954–1962
British Honduras³ 1962–1966
British Virgin Islands 1990–
Brunei Darussalam 1958, 1990–
Cameroon 1998–
Canada 1930–
Cayman Islands 1978–
Ceylon4 1938–1950, 1958–1970
Cook Islands 1974–1978, 1986–
Cyprus 1978–1982, 1990–
Dominica 1958–1962, 1970, 1994–
England 1930–
Falkland Islands 1982–
Fiji15 1938, 1954–1986, 1998–2006
The Gambia 1970–1982, 1990–
Ghana 1958–1982, 1990–
Gibraltar 1958–
Gold Coast5 1954
Grenada 1970–1974, 1994–
Guernsey 1970–
Guyana 1966–1970, 1978–1982, 1990–
Hong Kong6 1934, 1954–1962, 1970–1994
India 1934–1938, 1954–1958, 1966–1982, 1990–
Ireland7 1930
Irish Free State7 1934
Isle of Man 1958–
Jamaica 1934, 1954–1982, 1990–
Jersey 1958–
Kenya 1954–1982, 1990–
Kiribati 1998–
Lesotho 1974–
Malawi12 1970–
Malaya8 1950, 1958–1962
Malaysia 1966–1982, 1990–
Maldives 1986–
Malta 1958–1962, 1970, 1982–
Mauritius 1958, 1966–1982, 1990–
Montserrat 1994–
Mozambique 1998–
Namibia 1994–
Nauru 1990–
Newfoundland9 1930–1934
New Zealand 1930–
Nigeria 1950–1958, 1966–1974, 1982, 1990–1994, 2002–
Niue 2002–
Norfolk Island 1986–
North Borneo8 1958–1962
Northern Ireland7 1934–1938, 1954–
Northern Rhodesia10 1954
Pakistan 1954–1970, 1990–
Papua New Guinea 1962–1982, 1990–
Rhodesia11 1934–1950
Rhodesia and Nyasaland10 1958–1962
Rwanda 2010-
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 1982, 1998–
Saint Kitts and Nevis (Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla 1978), 1990–
Saint Lucia 1962, 1970, 1978, 1994–
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1958, 1966–1978, 1994–
Samoa and Western Samoa 1974–
Sarawak8 1958–1962
Scotland 1930–
Seychelles 1990–
Sierra Leone 1966–1970, 1978, 1990–
Singapore8 1958–
Solomon Islands 1982, 1990–
South Africa 1930–1958, 1994–
South Arabia1 1966
Southern Rhodesia10 1954
Sri Lanka 1974–1982, 1990–
Swaziland 1970–
Tanganyika13 1962
Tanzania 1966–1982, 1990–
Tonga 1974, 1982, 1990–
Trinidad and Tobago 1934–1982, 1990–
Turks and Caicos Islands 1978, 1998–
Tuvalu 1998–
Uganda 1954–1982, 1990–
Vanuatu 1982–
Wales 1930–
Zambia12 1970–1982, 1990–
Zimbabwe12,14 1982, 1990–2002





Commonwealth nations/dependencies/disputed territories yet to send teams
Very few Commonwealth dependencies and nations have yet to take part:


Tokelau was expected to take part in the 2010 Games in Delhi but did not do so.
Pitcairn Islands' tiny population (50 as of July 2009) would appear to prevent this British overseas territory from competing.
The British Indian Ocean Territory currently has no permanent population although there is a sizeable population who were born in the BIOT but currently live in

Mauritius and the United Kingdom and so would be eligible to compete on birth criteria.
The lack of a permanent population would seem to prevent the British overseas territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic

Territory, the New Zealand territory of Ross Dependency and the Australian external territories of Australian Antarctic Territory, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral

Sea Islands and Heard Island and McDonald Islands from competing.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has made applications to the CGF to send teams.
Other states, territories and territorial autonomies with native populations within the Commonwealth that may be eligible include Christmas Island, the Cocos

(Keeling) Islands, Rodrigues, Nevis and Zanzibar.
It is also conceivable that any future members of the Commonwealth such as applicant such as Sudan and Yemen may participate in future games. The Colony of

Aden and Federation of South Arabia, precursors to modern Yemen have participated before in 1962 and in 1966. Sudan was an Anglo-Egyptian protectorate until

independence in 1956. A referendum on independence of Southern Sudan is scheduled for early 2011 and a future independent Southern Sudan may also be

elegable to join the Commonwealth.
Cornwall, represented by the Cornwall Commonwealth Games Association (CCGA), sent a bid for participation in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, however, their

application was rejected by the CGF, who stated that the Constitutional status of Cornwall was not an issue that should be resolved through this medium. However,

in 2010, the CCGA sought to launch a legal challenge to the decision of the CGF, stating that the Cornish bid of 2006 fulfilled the entire criterion of the CGF, and by

rejecting the bid, the CGF had violated their own code, failing to follow their own criteria for participation. The Cornwall team will therefore seek competition in the

2014 games.

Boycotts...

The Commonwealth Games has suffered from political boycotts over its history, largely associated with apartheid-era South Africa. Nigeria boycotted the 1978

Games in protest of New Zealand's sporting contacts with South Africa, while 32 of 59 nations from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean boycotted the 1986

Commonwealth Games due to the Thatcher government's attitude towards South African sporting contacts. Boycotts were also threatened in 1974, 1982, and 1990

because of South Africa.

Notable competitors
Lawn bowler Willie Wood from Scotland is the first competitor to have competed in seven Commonwealth Games, from 1974 to 2002. Also, Greg Yelavich, a sports

shooter from New Zealand, has won 11 medals in seven games from 1986 to 2010.



The 2010 Commonwealth Games is the 19th 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 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

Initially, several concerns were raised over the preparations of the Games and these included heavy rains and possibility of floods in Delhi, infrastructural

compromise, poor living conditions at the Commonwealth Games Village, delays in construction of the main Games' venues,[1][2] the withdrawal of prominent

athletes,[3] and widespread corruption by officials of the Games' Organising Committee.[4] Despite these concerns, all members of the Commonwealth of Nations

participated in the Games. A widely-praised opening ceremony helped improve the image of the games.[5][6] The Games' Organising Committee was praised by

other nations[7] and the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge remarked 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. 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 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."The Indian government stated that it would underwrite the total

cost of the Games.

Organisation

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. Singh 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 organisors,

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 (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.

Costs

Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International AirportThe initial total budget estimated by Indian Olympic Association in 2003 for hosting the Games was Rs 16.2 billion

(US$364.5 million) but escalated official total budget estimation in 2010 became Rs 115 bn ($2.6 M), which excludes non-sports-related infrastructure development in

the city such as airports, city beautification and roads. Business Today magazine estimated that the Games cost Rs 300 bn ($6.8 bn). The 2010 Commonwealth

Games are the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever.

Transport
Transport in Delhi

Road Transport, DelhiDelhi 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 Metro
Delhi–Gurgaon Expressway, DelhiIn 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.

Indira Gandhi International Airport is being modernised, expanded, and upgraded. Costing nearly $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 more than 75 flights an hour. At more than 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.

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. 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 (a date four years prior to the acceptance of Delhi's bid for the games).

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.

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.

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. 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. Bamboo screens have been erected around city slums to separate visitors from the sights of the slums, a

practice which human rights campaigners have deemed dishonest and immoral.

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.



Official song
Main article: Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto
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.

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


Opening ceremony
Main article: 2010 Commonwealth Games 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

70 PM (IST) on 3 October 2010 ending at 110 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.

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. 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 a multiple Commonwealth gold medallist, and Prince

Albert II of Monaco, whose country Monaco is not a member of the Commonwealth. As well, Sir Anand Satyanand, the Governor General of New Zealand (the first of

Indian descent), attended the ceremony.

Sports
There are 17 sports planned for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Aquatics
Diving
Swimming
Synchronised swimming
Archery (8)
Athletics (46)
Badminton (6)
Boxing (11)
Cycling
Road
Track
Gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics
Hockey (2)
Lawn bowls (6)
Netball (1)
Rugby sevens (1)
Shooting (44)
Squash (5)
Table tennis (7)
Tennis (5)
Weightlifting (15)
Wrestling (21)


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 and wrestling. 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]



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. Rwanda is fielding a team for the games for the first time after becoming a Commonwealth member in 2009. Numbers of athletes are shown in brackets.

Tokelau was initially expected to compete, but did not do so.

Anguilla (12)[57]
Antigua and Barbuda (17)[58]
Australia (377) [59]
Bahamas (25) [60]
Bangladesh (70) [61]
Barbados (28)[62]
Belize (9)[63]
Bermuda (14) [64]
Botswana (49)[65]
British Virgin Islands (2)[66]
Brunei (12)[67]
Cameroon (20)[68]
Canada (251)[69]
Cayman Islands (17)[70]
Cook Islands (31)[71]
Cyprus (56)[72]
Dominica (15)[73]
England (365) [74]
Falkland Islands (15)[75]
Gambia (17)[76]
Ghana (64)[77]
Gibraltar (15)[78]
Grenada (10)[79]
Guernsey (43) [80]
Guyana (34)[81]
India (495)
Isle of Man (33)[80]
Jamaica (48)[82]
Jersey (33) [83]
Kenya (136)[84]
Kiribati(17)[85]
Lesotho (10)[86]
Malawi (43)[87]
Malaysia (203)[88]
Maldives (28) [89]
Malta (22) [90]
Mauritius (60)[91]
Montserrat (5)[92]
Mozambique (10) [93]
Namibia (30) [94]
Nauru (6)[95]
New Zealand (192)[96]
Nigeria (101) [97]
Niue (24)[98]
Norfolk Island (22)[99]
Northern Ireland (80)[100]
Pakistan (54)[101]
Papua New Guinea (79)[102]
Rwanda (22) [103]
Saint Helena (4)[104]
Saint Kitts and Nevis (7)[105]
Saint Lucia (13)[106]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines(14)[107]
Samoa (53)[108]
Scotland (191) [109]
Seychelles (26)[110]
Sierra Leone (31)[111]
Singapore (68) [112]
Solomon Islands (12)[113]
South Africa (113)[114]
Sri Lanka (93)[115]
Swaziland (11)[116]
Tanzania (40)[117]
Tonga (22)[118]
Trinidad and Tobago (82) [119]
Turks and Caicos Islands (8)[120]
Tuvalu (3)[121]
Uganda (65) [122]
Vanuatu (14)[123]
Wales (175) [80]
Zambia (22)[124]



Nations expected to compete at the Games
Venues
Main article: Venues of the 2010 Commonwealth Games

The main venue of the Games, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.Events are taking place at twelve competition venues (see main article). A total of 20 training venues are

being used in the Games. Of these 20, one is 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.

The Commonwealth Games Village will provide accommodation and training for athletes of the Games, and will be open 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 63.5

hectares (157 acres). Comprising five main zones—the Residential Zone, the International Zone, the Training Area, the Main Dining and the Operational Zone—the

Games Village, which is a non-smoking zone, is universally accessible particularly to accommodate para-sport athletes.

There are three main non-competition venues in the Games, besides the Commonwealth Games Village (see above); namely the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games

Organising Committee Headquarters (OC CWG Delhi 2010), the Main Media Centre, and the Games Family Hotel, Hotel Ashok.


Concerns and controversies
Concerns and controversies over the 2010 Commonwealth Games

Initial concerns about the 2010 Commonwealth Games included delays in completion of projects, poor construction standards, corruption by Games' Organising

Committee officials and possibility of a terrorist attack. The concerns over infrastructure came to media attention in late September 2010 after media outlets began

reporting on "filthy and unlivable conditions" and taking photos of paan stains and excrement in living quarters at the games village, and safety concerns after the

collapse of an under-construction pedestrian bridge near the main stadium. The footbridge collapsed injuring 27 and seriously injuring five on 21 September 2010.

On 22 September 2010, a stadium false ceiling partly collapsed into the competitors area of the weightlifting venue with no reported injuries.

Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), an apex Government of India investigative agency, released a report highlighting financial irregularities in up to fourteen

Games projects. As per CVC report, in total 129 works in 71 organisations have been inspected.[130] The preliminary findings include — complete lack of

involvement of the city and the community at large, award of work contracts at higher prices, poor quality assurance and management, and award of work contracts

to ineligible agencies.

The Indian media also alleged that Games' Organising Committee officials were involved in serious corruption and these allegations included acceptance of bribe

during the process of awarding construction contracts for the Games' venues.The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on 5 August 2010 suspended T S

Darbari (joint director in the organising committee) and Sanjay Mahendroo (deputy director general in the organising committee) following the report of the three-

member panel which was probing the financial irregularities related to the Queen's Baton Relay. Organising Committee treasurer Anil Khanna resigned from the post

in the wake of allegations that his son's firm had secured a contract for laying synthetic courts at a tennis stadium. On September 23, The Daily Telegraph UK

showed photographs taken of child labour working on the Games sites.[135] There was also multiple cases of items being rented for the 45 days for more money

than it would cost to actually buy the item.[136] e.g., 72 golf carts were hired for 4.23 lakh (US$9,517.5) each, when they could have been purchased for 1.84 lakh

(US$4,140) each.

Security concerns were highlighted by an Australian TV crew from the Seven Network who claimed to have walked past security with a suitcase containing a dummy

bomb and its detonator on 15 September, although the veracity of the claim has since been challenged. Concerns of a terrorist attack were also raised following a

gun attack that took place outside the Jama Masjid on 19th September 2010. However, the Indian authorities stated that the shooting was a "one-off incident".

In the opening ceremony, the chairman of Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, faced further embarrassment when he was booed by the Indian spectators at the

start of his welcome speech. The crowd atmosphere otherwise was fine, especially when they offered a warm applause to the neighboring Pakistan squad despite

the tense relations between India and Pakistan.

More than dozens of athletes from Australia and England, mainly swimmers, have reportedly fallen ill. Initially, concerns were raised over the quality of water in the

swimming pools of the SPM Complex, but other competing teams, including South Africa, reported no such illness.Additionally, the Australian team's chief doctor,

Peter Harcourt, ruled that the "chances of the [Delhi] pool being the cause of the problem is very remote" and praised the hygiene and food quality in the Delhi

Games Village. He suggested that the Australians swimmers could have contracted the stomach virus during their training camp in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In another incident, three Ugandan officials were injured when the car they were travelling in hit a security wheel stopper at the Games village. The chairman of the

Games' Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, apologized to the Ugandan High Commissioner to India for the freak car accident.