Commonwealth Games & London Olympics 2012

Commonwealth Games

The 2010 Commonwealth Game (officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games), was a multi-sport event held in Delhi, India from 3 to 14 October 2010. It was the first time that India hosted the Commonwealth Games and the second time it was held in Asia after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) participated in this Game, competing in 272 events in 21 sports.

Athletes from 36 participating CGAs won at least one medal; athletes from 23 of these CGAs secured at least one gold. Australia led the medal table for the sixth consecutive time with 74 gold and 177 medals overall. Host nation India finished second in the table for the very first time in Commonwealth Games history with a tally of 38 gold and 101 medals overall. Botswana, the Cayman Islands and Samoa won their first ever Commonwealth Games gold medals.^]Australian swimmer Alicia Coutts emerged as the most successful athlete with five gold medals.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 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 it was 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 Bado Jeeto", was composed by celebrated Indian musician A.R. Rahman.

 

Preparation for the Games received widespread international media attention, with criticism being leveled against the organizers for the slow pace of work, as well as issues related to security and hygiene. However, all member nations of the Commonwealth of Nations participated in the event, except Fiji, which is suspended from the Commonwealth, and Tokelau, which didn't send a team, in spite of threats of boycotts and athlete withdrawals.

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 was 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 Ministry 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.

Mascot

The official mascot for the 2010 Commonwealth Games is Shera, an anthropomorphized tiger. His name comes from "Sher", a Hindi word meaning tiger (Hindi "Bagh" means tiger. However, Sher is colloquially used for both lion and tiger). The logo and the look for the games were designed by Idiom Design and Consulting. There is one song for Shera also composed by the popular composer of INDIA the song contains initiative "Shera Shera"

The mascot Shera visited many schools across Delhi to create enthusiasm and interest for the Commonwealth Games being held.

 

Costs

The initial total budget estimated by the Indian Olympic Association in 2003 for hosting the Games was 1,620 crore (US$306.18 million). In 2010, however, the official total budget soon escalated to an estimated 11,500 crore (US$2.17 billion), a figure which excluded non-sports-related infrastructure development.^[20] Business Today magazine estimated that the Games cost 60,000 crore (US$11.34 billion).^[21] The 2010 Commonwealth Games are reportedly the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever^.

Transport

A four-lane flyway, 2.2 km stretch from Lodhi 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.

London, 2012 - Summer Olympics

 

Host City                              :               London, United Kingdom

Motto                                   :               Inspire a Generation

Nations Participating         :               204

Athletes Participating       :               10,820

Events                                 :               302 in 26 sports

Opening Ceremony        :               27 July

Closing Ceremony           :               12 August

Officially Opened by       :               Queen Elizabeth II

 

2012 Summer Olympics

The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and commonly known as London 2012, was a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It took place in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The first event, the group stage in women's football, began two days earlier, on 25 July. More than 10,000 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated. It started on Friday 27 July 2012 at 0:00.

Following a bid headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe and then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, London was selected as the host city on 6 July 2005 during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore, defeating bids from Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris. London was the first city to host the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and in 1948.

Construction for the Games involved considerable redevelopment, with an emphasis on sustainability] The main focus was a new 200-hectare (490-acre) Olympic Park, constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford, East London. The Games also made use of venues that already existed before the bid.

The Games received widespread acclaim for their organisation, with the volunteers, the British military and public enthusiasm praised particularly highly. The opening ceremony, directed by Danny Boyle, was particularly praised by the British public, even though international publics were less unanimous. During the Games, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, winning his 22nd medal. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time, so that every currently eligible country has sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games. Women's boxing was included for the first time; thus, the Games became the first at which every sport had female competitors. 

 

 



Opening Ceremony

Main articles: 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony and 2012 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations.

The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics was held on 27 July and called "Isles of Wonder". Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle was its artistic director, with the music directors being the electronic music duo Rick Smith and Karl Hyde of Underworld.

The Games were officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. It was the second Games the Queen had opened personally, the first being the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. All successive Olympics held in Canada or Australia have been opened by their respective governors-general.

A short comic film starring Daniel Craig as secret agent James Bond and the Queen as herself was screened during the ceremony.

Live musical performers included Frank Turner, Mike Oldfield, London Symphony Orchestra (accompanied by Rowan Atkinson), Dizzee Rascal, Arctic Monkeys and Sir Paul McCartney, who performed the song "Hey Jude" at the end of the ceremony.

The Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Games attracted a peak viewing audience of over 27 million viewers (around half of the population of the United Kingdom watched BBC1 live simultaneously).

 

 

Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics was held on 12 August 2012. In addition to protocol, the ceremony featured a flashback fiesta to British music with The Who finishing out the performance. The ceremony also included a handover of the Olympic flag by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, to Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics.