2002 Commonwealth Games
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The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from July 25 to August 4 2002. It was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in England, eclipsing the 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.
The Games formed the catalyst for the widespread regeneration and development of Manchester, and bolstered its reputation as a European and world city.
Events were held across Greater Manchester. The opening and closing ceremonies, the athletic and the rugby 7s events were held at the City of Manchester Stadium, which was purpose built for the Games. Unusually for a large multi-sport event – the second largest competition by number of countries and athletes participating – the shooting events were held in the National Shooting Centre in Bisley, Surrey, some 200 miles from the main focus of the Games in Manchester.
Seventy-two nations competed in 14 individual sports and 3 team sports events.
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[edit] List of sports
There were the maximum of 17 sports included in the schedule for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
- Further information: 2002 Commonwealth Games results
- aquatics
- athletics
- badminton
- boxing
- cycling
- gymnastics
- field hockey
- judo
- lawn bowls
- netball
- Rugby Sevens
- shooting
- squash
- table tennis
- triathlon
- weightlifting
- wrestling
After experimenting with it on a smaller scale at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and dropping it at the 1998 Games, disabled competitions were held in swimming, athletics, bowls, table tennis and weightlifting (powerlifting). The medals were added to the final tally for each nation.
[edit] Participating teams
There were 72 participating countries, territories, and Commonwealth regions at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In alphabetical order, these included:
[edit] Queen's Jubilee Baton Relay
The 2002 Queen's Jubilee Baton Relay, the continuation of a tradition that started with the 1958 Games, consisted of the relay of an electronic baton, containing a personal message from Queen Elizabeth II across 23 Commonwealth nations. The relay culminated in the arrival of the baton at the City of Manchester Stadium, opening the Games. The speech was then removed electronically from the baton, and read by Her Majesty to open the Games.
The 2002 Baton itself was designed by a company called IDEO, and was constructed of machined aluminium with the handle plated for conductivity. It weighed 1.69 kg, reached over 710 mm, and was 42.5 mm to 85 mm in diameter. The Queen’s message itself was held in an aluminium capsule inserted into the top of the Baton. On either side of the Baton were two sterling silver coins, designed by Mappin and Webb, which celebrated the City of Manchester as host of the XVII Commonwealth Games.
The Baton was also equipped with sensors that detected and monitored the Runner’s pulse rate. This information was then conveyed to a series of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), via a light behaviour module. The lens then transformed the LEDs into a shaft of bright blue pulsating light which synchronised with each new Runner. The hearts of the Runner and the Baton then beat as one until it was passed on, symbolising the journey of humanity and the essence of life.
The Queen's Jubilee Baton Relay passed through over 500 cities, towns and villages across the UK and the Baton was carried by 5,000 individuals, with each Runner carrying the Baton up to 500 yards, however on Saturday 15 June, the baton was snatched from a runners hand in the town of Connah's Quay, Deeside.
The UK Baton Runners were made up of people from all walks of life including athletes, celebrities and local heroes from all over the country. Around 2500 Jubilee Runners were nominated by the community to carry the Baton, because they made a special contribution to their community or achieved a personal goal against the odds.
The judging of the Jubilee Runners was conducted by a panel of judges under the supervision of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in January 2002. The relay was sponsored by Cadbury Schweppes, a major UK confectionery and soft drinks manufacturer.
[edit] Opening ceremony
Five-time Olympic champion Sir Steve Redgrave got the two-and-a-quarter-hour opening ceremony underway by banging a huge drum, which initiated a huge co-ordinated dance and fireworks act.
The champion rower was joined on the stage by sporting stars including yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur, heptathlete Denise Lewis, long-distance runner Moses Kiptanui, swimmer Susie O'Neill and sprinter Donovan Bailey.
The Grenadier Guards shared the arena with pop band S Club and opera singer Russell Watson sang the Games' theme, "Faith of the Heart", while the Queen's arrival was greeted with a flypast by the Red Arrows.
England football captain David Beckham helped chaperone Queen's Baton final runner Kirsty Howard, assisting the terminally ill six-year-old to hand the baton to the Queen. A 4,000-strong cast took part in the £12m spectacular, which in theme and tone consisted of a mix of "pomp and pop", combining the ceremonial aspects of the Games with a party-style atmosphere, based around Manchester's reputation as the party city of "Mad-chester". The ceremony was voiced by broadcaster Anthony Davis.
The traditional athletes' parade was started by previous hosts Malaysia, and England brought up the rear before the Queen, the Head of the Commonwealth, declared the Games open:
"All of us participating in this ceremony tonight, whether athletes or spectators, or those watching on television around the world, can share in the ideals of this unique association of nations,"
"We can all draw inspiration from what the Commonwealth stands for, our diversity as a source of strength, our tradition of tolerance...our focus on young people, for they are our future."
[edit] Memorable events
- The netball final between Australia and New Zealand. Played before a capacity crowd of 12,000 people, the game see-sawed throughout the four quarters, both teams pulling out to significant leads only to be clawed back to level pegging. New Zealand were one goal up with only 30 seconds to go, and in attack, when called for stepping, Australia taking advantage to score and tying the game at 46-all at full time. Two seven minute periods of overtime were played, with the game becoming increasingly more frantic and scrappy as the score was levelled again at 55-all after overtime, with the situation that the first team to get two goals ahead won the game. After three minutes of sudden-death extra time Australia won the game 57-55, in one of the most exciting games of netball ever played.
- In a slightly underwhelming Australian performance at the pool, Ian Thorpe still managed to set yet another world record in his pet event, the 400 metre freestyle swimming. His quest for seven gold medals was ended by team-mate Matt Welsh in the 100 m backstroke.
- English track athlete Paula Radcliffe won her first major gold medal with a dominant, front running performance in the 5,000 metres, to record a time of 14:31.42, over 20 seconds ahead of silver medallist Edith Masai of Kenya and a massive 1 minute 21 seconds faster than the inaugural running of the event four years earlier.
- In the final of the 100 m for men (athletics), the two English favourites (Dwain Chambers & Mark Lewis-Francis) both pulled up with injuries. The race was won by Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis, winning the country's first Commonwealth title.
- Simon Whitfield of Canada, the 2000 Olympic champion, won gold in the triathlon.
- On the last day of track competition, England won gold in both the men's 4x100 and 4x400 relays by tiny margins, recording the same time (38.62) as the Jamaican quartet in sprint relay and holding off a fast finishing Welsh team by 1/100th of a second in the longer race, with a winning time of 3:00.40. The women's 4x400 relay was won by Australia in a major upset after the favoured Jamaican team dropped the baton, with Cathy Freeman, out of condition as she looks after her ill husband, nevertheless ran the second leg to assist the team to victory.
- In winning the triple jump England's Jonathan Edwards simultaneously held the World, Olympic, European and Commonwealth championships and the World record. He would lose the European title a week later in Munich.
- Another world record was set in the 4000 metre team pursuit at the track cycling by the Australian team. Scot Chris Hoy took the individual time trial and 19-year old prodigy Nicole Cooke of Wales won the women's cycling road race in a sprint finish, having seemed out of contention after a mistake on the last lap.
- South African swimmer Natalie du Toit created history. As well as winning her events in the newly-included disabled swimming event, the 18-year-old, missing the lower section of her left leg, made the final of the 800 metre able-bodied freestyle event. The integration of a small number of elite disabled sporting events into the games was regarded as a success.
- In gymnastics England's Beth Tweddle and Kanukai Jackson gave the home crowd something to cheer about taking gold in the asymmetric bars and all around events respectively. Herodotos Giorgallas also won the first gymnastics gold ever for Cyprus when tying with Scotland's Steve Frew. The rhythmic gymnastics event was held in Slough a few months prior to the Games proper.
[edit] Medal table by country
[edit] Cultureshock and Festival Live
Cultureshock was the Commonwealth Games Cultural Programme which ran alongside the Games themselves. The events ranged from images of the athlete as hero in sculpture and photography (Go! Freeze, which ran at Turton Tower in Bolton to a Zulu performance at The Lowry. There was an exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery called Tales of Power: West African Textiles, and a performance of the film Monsoon Wedding at Clwyd Theatr Cymru. The geographical range was from Cheshire in the south to Blackburn and Cumbria in the north, and included that year the various Melas that take place around the region.
- Further information: Cultureshock at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
Cultureshock also ensured that a wide range of cultural events and acts reached the "man on the street", with the city centre of Manchester filled with bands, performers, and artists of various forms entertaining the thousands of visitors to the Games. Cultureshock also coincided with the BBC's Festival Live series of open air concerts and celebrations around the country, held to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
[edit] Closing ceremony
The Queen ended 11 days of competition at an entertaining, rain-drenched closing ceremony in the City of Manchester Stadium. She declared the Games closed in front of a 38,000 sell-out crowd gathered in the stadium for a grand party.
She also called on the athletes to assemble again in four years in Melbourne and to continue displaying the "friendship" they had shown in Manchester. The ceremony, attended by Prime Minister Tony Blair and several other dignitaries, took place in pouring rain but like the opening ceremony, mixed "pomp with pop".
Australian Ian Thorpe, the star of the Games with his six swimming golds, carried his national flag into the arena, along with athletes from each of the other competing countries. Around 40,000 balloons were released into the rainy Manchester sky as the ceremony concluded with a spectacular fireworks display.
Closing ceremony highlights included:
- Children covering themselves with red, blue and white paint to portray a giant British flag before unveiling a giant portrait of the Queen as a Golden Jubilee gift.
- The athletes brought their flags into the stadium
- South African swimmer Natalie du Toit being honoured as the outstanding athlete of the Games.
- The symbolic handover of the Commonwealth Games Ceremonial Flag to Melbourne, host city for the 2006 Games.
- A spectacular presentation with over 1,700 lanterns which ended with the message 'Seek Peace' lit up in vast letters on the floor of the arena.
- Coronation Street stars Steve Arnold and Tracy Shaw (who played characters Ashley and Maxine Peacock) arriving in one of 40 Morris Minors which became the centre of a song-and-dance showpiece.
- Hip-hop legend Grandmaster Flash encouraging the massed ranks to "make some noise" as athletes and volunteers poured into the arena to music from the likes of Will Young, David A. Stewart, Heather Small and Toploader.
- Manchester's famously grey weather, which had largely behaved itself for the games, got its revenge in the closing ceremony however, as it drenched those dignitaries, spectators and athletes who turned up (many stayed in the village and watched on television). Australian singer Vanessa Amorosi managed to keep a straight face, but only just, as she sang her signature tune, Shine and a song about the city of Melbourne, I Always be a Melbourne Girl.
[edit] Legacy and impact on host nation
The legacy of the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games was widespread for the city and indeed the UK. The Games raised the reputation of Manchester worldwide, positioning it as a thriving, modern city, successfully regenerated from its industrial past.
The inhabitants of the city were overwhelmingly supportive of the bid and welcoming to the Games and an innovative and democratic local volunteer programme was popular and successful
Public houses and restaurants in Manchester reported a threefold increase in takings during the Games, and local tourism board Marketing Manchester estimate some 300,000 more visitors will come to the city each year as a result of its increased profile.
In terms of infrastructure, the Games were the catalyst for the widespread redevelopment of the east of the city, an area which had remained derelict since the departure of heavy industry some decades before.
A new commercial centre for East Manchester, based around the stadium has been created, known as SportCity. Legacy sporting facilities include the Northern Regional Tennis Centre, the National Squash Centre, the City of Manchester Stadium for football, the Manchester Velodrome and facilities for athletics, as well as shops, supermarkets and new housing. Legacy facilities for aquatics, the Manchester Aquatics Centre, and comprehensive upgrades of Belle Vue and Moss Side leisure centres serve their local communities.
In terms of the rest of the UK, it is believed that the Games raised perception of the country's ability to organise major sporting events. Indeed, commentators believe that successful implementation of the 2002 Games was one of the reasons for the IOC's decision to award the 2012 Summer Olympics to London three years later.
At the closing ceremony, British Olympic Association chairman Craig Reedie said they could help pave the way for a possible bid from London for the 2012 Olympics. (Source: BBC News)
Manchester 2002 chairman Charles Allen declared: "I can't tell you how proud I am of my team, who have created the biggest and most successful multi-sport event ever held in Britain.
"I believe for everyone touched by the spirit of these Games, it is a memory that will be a valuable part of the rest of our lives."
[edit] External links
- Games Legacy - Manchester commonwealth games 2002
- BBC coverage - Excellent for checking times/positions
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es:Juegos de la Mancomunidad de 2002 nl:Gemenebestspelen 2002 ja:2002年コモンウェルスゲームズ sv:Samväldesspelen 2002
