2002 Commonwealth Games

XVII Commonwealth Games
Host cityManchester, England
MottoThe Spirit of Friendship[1]
Nations72[2]
Athletes3,863
Events281 in 17 sports
Opening25 July 2002
Closing4 August 2002
Opened byElizabeth II
Closed byElizabeth II
Athlete's OathJames Hickman
Queen's Baton Final RunnerDavid Beckham and
Kirsty Howard
AnthemWhere My Heart Will Take Me by Russell Watson
Main venueCity of Manchester Stadium
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The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August 2002. According to planning, this event was to be held in a country in the United Kingdom as part of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth. England was the only bidder for the event and, in an internal process, Manchester was selected for the 2002 Games ahead of London. The Manchester bid used projects which were part of the failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, which were awarded to Sydney, Australia.[3] The 2002 Commonwealth Games was, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing the London 1948 Summer Olympics in terms of teams and athletes participating.[4][5] The 2002 Commonwealth Games had the largest number of events of any Commonwealth Games in history, featuring 281 events across 17 sports.

The event was considered a success for the host city, providing an opportunity to display how Manchester reeinvented itself as city, following the 1996 IRA bombings.[6] The Games formed the main catalyst for the widespread regeneration and heavy development of Manchester and bolstered its reputation as a European and global city internationally. Rapid economic development and continued urban regeneration of the now post-industrial Manchester continued after the Games, which helped cement its place as one of the principal cultural cities in the United Kingdom.[7]

The opening and closing ceremonies, the athletics, and the rugby sevens events were held at the City of Manchester Stadium, which was purpose-built for the Games. Unusually for a Commonwealth Games, the only sport that was held outside the host city was shooting, which was held in the National Shooting Centre in Bisley, Surrey, some 200 miles (322 km) from Manchester. Seventy-two associations competed in 14 individual sports and 3 team sports events.

Sporting legacy includes the British Cycling team, which inherited the Manchester Velodrome and went on to win eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics and another eight gold medals at the 2012 Olympics, partly attributed to the availability of the velodrome. The stadium was leased long-term to Manchester City F.C., and, as a result, they have since found themselves in a desirable investment opportunity in the age of foreign football investment. The club was taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group led by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, a takeover that would have been far less certain without the stadium.[8][9] The Games were a formative moment for Manchester and Britain, with then-IOC president Jacques Rogge viewing the games as an important litmus test as to whether Britain could host the Summer Olympics.[10][11] The success of the Games quickly encouraged some speculation of a city bid for the Olympics, but London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, with London going on to win the bid on 6 July 2005 and the games were successfully staged seven years later.[12]

  1. ^ "Spirit of Friendship Festival". Manchester 2002 Ltd. Summer 2002. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  2. ^ The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, as do the three Crown dependencies – Jersey, the Isle of Man and Guernsey – and 9 of the 14 British Overseas Territories. The Cook Islands and Niue, non-sovereign territories in free association with New Zealand, and Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia, also compete separately. There are thus 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, but 72 competing teams at the Commonwealth Games.
  3. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (3 February 1994). "Commonwealth Games: Manchester celebrates capital conquest: London loses out to Olympic rival in fight for the right to present England's bid". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  4. ^ Hubbard, Alan (12 December 1999). "City of Manchester Stadium: The Wembley rescuers". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Cook, I. R. and Ward, K. (2011) Trans-urban networks of learning, mega-events and policy tourism: The case of Manchester's Commonwealth and Olympic Games projects, Urban Studies 48 (12), 2519–2535" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  6. ^ Schaffer, David (23 July 2002). "Golden future for Games city". BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Manchester's boom shows what can be achieved when councils work together". The Guardian. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  8. ^ Hayward, Paul (11 November 2010). "Sheikh Mansour needs his money to be spent on flair not caution". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  9. ^ Conn, David (8 October 2008). "Abu Dhabi empire building reaches east Manchester". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Rogge rules out joint Olympic bid". BBC News. 3 August 2002. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  11. ^ "Rogge rules out joint Olympic bid". BBC News. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  12. ^ "Can Britain stage the Olympics?". BBC News. 5 August 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2012.