2014 Commonwealth Games

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XX Commonwealth Games
20mh Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Queen's Baton Final RunnerSir Chris Hoy
Main venueCeltic Park (opening ceremony)
Hampden Park (closing ceremony)
WebsiteGlasgow2014.com

The 2014 Commonwealth Games (

Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). It took place in Glasgow, Scotland
, from 23 July to 3 August 2014.

Glasgow was selected as the host city on 9 November 2007 during CGF General Assembly in Colombo, Sri Lanka, defeating Abuja, Nigeria. It was the largest multi-sport event ever held in Scotland with around 4,950 athletes from 71 different nations and territories competing in 18 different sports, outranking the 1970 and 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. Over the last 10 years, however, Glasgow and Scotland had staged World, Commonwealth, European, or British events in all sports proposed for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, including the World Badminton Championships in 1997.[4]

The Games received acclaim for their organisation, attendance, and the public enthusiasm of the people of Scotland, with CGF chief executive Mike Hooper hailing them as "the standout games in the history of the movement".

105 kg men's weightlifting competition.[9]

Host selection

Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland
as the main Scottish candidate city for the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Scotland was the first country to consider hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games in 2004, with Scottish cities being invited by the

United Kingdom government and all main parties in the Scottish Parliament, formally announced Glasgow's intention to host the games on 16 August 2005.[10][11]

In March 2006, the bidding process began, with the Glasgow Bidding team presenting their case to the Commonwealth Games Federation at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, along with the other confirmed candidate cities; the Nigerian capital, Abuja and Halifax in Canada.[12] In October 2006, the first voting delegates arrived in Glasgow, to inspect the city's existing and proposed amenities and facilities. Glasgow announced on 16 January 2007, the 17 sports to be included should its bid be successful.[13] Halifax later withdrew its bid on 8 March 2007, following the withdrawal of funding from the municipal government.[14]

Special liveries in support of Glasgow's bid were applied to numerous subway carriages.

That left Abuja and Glasgow as the remaining bidders, with Abuja seen as a likely favourite due to the basis of its campaign that an African nation has never before hosted the Commonwealth Games.[15] The deadline for formal submission of bids to the Commonwealth Games Federation, in the form of a Candidate City File, was set for May 2007.[16] Both bids were highly recommended, though Glasgow's bid team had made use of extensive benchmarking against the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and as a result, its bid was deemed technically superior according to the CGF Evaluation Report that was released in September 2007. The Commonwealth Games Evaluation Commission concluded that: "Glasgow has shown it has the ability to stage the 2014 Commonwealth Games to a standard which would continue to enhance the image and prestige of the Games." This put Glasgow ahead in terms of the technical comprehensiveness of its bid.[17]

The final decision on the host city of the 2014 Commonwealth Games was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 9 November 2007 at the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly, attended by all 71 Commonwealth Games member associations. Each bid city made a presentation to the General Assembly, the order of which was determined by drawing lots. Glasgow's delegation was led by Louise Martin, chair of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland, First Minister Alex Salmond, athlete Jamie Quarry and Leader of Glasgow City Council Steven Purcell. The presentation also included a promotional film narrated by Sean Connery.[18] Abuja's delegation was led by General Yakubu Gowon, head of the Abuja 2014 Commonwealth Games bid team.

The CGF members later voted for their preferred candidate in a secret ballot. As there were only two bids, the winner was announced by the CGF President, Mike Fennel, after the first round of voting, with the winner only requiring a simple majority. The results of the bidding process were as follows:

2014 Commonwealth Games bidding results
City Country Votes
Glasgow  Scotland 47
Abuja  Nigeria 24

Development and preparation

The Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee was responsible for organising and delivering the Games.

Commonwealth Games Scotland. The Glasgow City Council was responsible for delivering a number of the venues and lasting benefits from the Games for the city and people of Glasgow. The Scottish Government was the third organisation in the partnership and was the main funder of the Games.[21] Lord Robert Smith was the chairman of the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee.[22]

Venues

Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome hosted the Badminton and Track Cycling events
SSE Hydro
hosted Gymnastics and Netball events
Royal Commonwealth Pool hosted Diving events