XIX Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010

The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states spread over every continent and ocean from Africa (19) to Asia (8), Europe (3), North America (12), Oceania (10) and South America (1), and are home to two billion people of many faiths, races, languages, cultures and traditions. Most are former British colonies, or dependencies of these colonies.

Commonwealth Games – Introduction

The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the ‘Friendly Games’ and a multinational, multi-sports event, are held every four years.

Delhi, the capital of India, is hosting the XIX Commonwealth Games between October 3 and October 14, 2010.

The last edition of the games was held in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. The next edition of the games will be held in 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

The Commonwealth Games were first held in 1930 as the British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The name was changed to British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, to British Commonwealth Games in 1970, and simply as the Commonwealth Games in 1978.

There are currently 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and 71 teams participate in the Games.

The reason why there are 71 teams is that it is the games associations that participate, and some nations have more than one Commonwealth Games Association (CGA).

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, and many of the British overseas territories.

Interesting Facts

1. The combined population of Commonwealth of Nations is 2.1 billion – 30 percent of the world’s population – of which 1.2 billion is in India.

2. The third-largest multi-sport event in the world, after the Summer Olympic Games and the Asian Games.

3. The first Commonwealth Games were held in Hamilton in Ontario, Canada, in 1930.

4. First time the Commonwealth Games will be held in India and the second time the event has been held in Asia (after 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).

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

6. The home nations within the United Kingdom hosted the games five times.

7. Sixteen cities in seven countries have hosted the games.

8. Two cities have held the games on multiple occasions: Auckland (1950 and 1990), and Edinburgh (1970 and 1986).

9. Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales.

10. Australia has been the highest achieving team for ten games, England for seven, and Canada for one.