Here is a compilation of some interesting facts about the 2010 Commonwealth Games that is being hosted by India.

• India will be hosting the Commonwealth Games for the first time. This will be the 19th round of the Commonwealth Games.
• The 2010 Commonwealth Games is going to be largest Commonwealth Games event ever. There are going to be 17 sports and over 285 events. Also 72 nations will be competing against each other.
• The Motto of the 2010 Commonwealth Games is “Come out and play”.
• Tennis matches will be making their debut at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Even though the sport had been on the approval list, it is only making its appearance now.
• It has been estimated that there are over 415000 daily wage workers working on the projects related to 2010 Commonwealth Games. It is unfortunate that most of them are being paid less than minimum wages.
• Commonwealth Games is the only multinational event in which the home nations of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland – send seperate teams to the Commonwealth Games unlike at Olympics.
• The 2010 Commonwealth Games are going to be the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever and are going to cost the capital more than US $1.6 Billion Dollars. This does not include the amount that the capital has already spend on the infrastructure development in the city. It has been estimated that over $1.94 Billion Dollars was spent on modernizing the Capital’s International Airport.
• It has been predicted that the Commonwealth Games at Delhi will increase the capital’s GDP by 49 percent and that means it will become the richest city in the country followed by Mumbai. The year 2010 will be the first time ever GDP of Delhi will be more than Mumbai since the country’s Independence.
• The 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games will be the first games ever to be recognised as “Green Commonwealth Games”. This is despite the fact that there had been a felling of “heritage trees” in the forest area to make way for the game facilities.
• The Queen’s Baton has been equipped with modern technologies such as GPS, Camera and SMS Functionality. This will prevent the baton from getting lost, allow the user to take pictures and also will send messages to the baton bearers throughout the day.

The cycling event at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games is supposed to be held at the IG Sports Complex Venue. The 2010 Commonwealth Games will feature 14 track events – with eight being for men and eight for women, apart from that there will also be two road events for men and women. The events are supposed to be held from 5 to 8 October 2010.

There are going to be 18 medals at stake for the Commonwealth Games 2010. Only 3 competitors can enter for each of the cycling event with an exception in the Mass Start Road Race, Team Pursuit and Road Time Trial where there would be 6 competitors, 4 competitors and 3 competitors respectively.

72 nations that will be sending off their athletes at the 2010 commonwealth games. India will be playing as the host nation at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Only in Commonwealth Games – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland represent themselves individually rather than as United Kingdom.

Nations that will be participating at the 2010 Commonwealth Games 2010.

• Africa – Botswana , Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda, and Zambia
• Americas – Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Falkland Islands, Guyana, and St. Helena
• Asia – Bangladesh, Brunei, Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore, and Sri Lanka
• Caribbean – Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, and Turks & Caicos Islands
• Europe – Cyprus, England, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey , Malta, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales Oceania – Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu

The venue for the Badminton matches at the Commonwealth Games 2010 will be Siri Fort Sports Complex. The training venues for the badminton will be Saket Sports Complex and Siri Fort Sports Complex. The 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi will feature six events in badminton – singles and doubles matches for both men and women. The matches are supposed to be held from October 4 to October 14 2010.

There are six gold medals at stake for this match, two each from men, women and mixed team/doubles matches at the Commonwealth Games 2010. There will be a maximum entry of 5 men and 5 women per Commonwealth Games Associate.

Lawn Bowls have been in all the Commonwealth Games except the 1966 Kingston games and the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi will be featuring six lawn bowl events at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex. The sports complex is a bit more than ten kilometres away from the Games Village.

The training venue for the Lawn Bowls will be the Yamuna Sports Complex and the Delhi Public School, RK Puram. The Lawn Bowl events is from 4 October to 13 October 2010.

The tickets for the commonwealth games 2010 were supposed to be sold in phases. The first phase had started from November 2009 to January 2010. The second phase for the tickets was from January 2001 to March 2010. There will be available tickets sold before and during the game also.

Tickets for the game are sold through selected retail outlets throughout the city and other metros. Also tickets can be purchased for the delhi games online.

Tickets will not be required to view the Road Cycling event and the Marathon at the Delhi Commonwealth Games. The events are supposed to take place at India Gate and Greater Noida Expressway.

The Boxing matches at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games will be held at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium. The training venue for the event has been decided Delhi University’s 4 Rings. Boxing matches have been a feature at all Commonwealth Games.

There will be different weight categories for the boxing matches from light flyweight to super heavyweight matches. The event is supposed to start from October 5 2010 and will be ending on 13 October 2010 at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium.

The event will be having 10 gold medals at stake. Only one athlete from each country will be allowed to participate in each category at the Commonwealth Games 2010.

Since India is one of the worst countries that is affected by terrorism, there would be strong security measures in order to prevent anything from going wrong during the games. Many athletes have raised questions for their safety during the Commonwealth Games.

It is expected that India will be deploying 4000 army personnels to protect the athletes and officials, and there will also be tens of thousands of policemen. The country wants to ensure that there are no incidents happening during the event.

It is likely for the terrorists to struck at places which are to be visited by foreigners and installation of cctvs and other security equipment would be done to ensure safety of the visitors.

The Queen’s Baton Relay with a message from Queen Elizabeth started from the Buckingham Palace in October 2009. It is supposed to visit through the nations of Commonwealth and throughout India, arriving at the 2010 Commonwealth Opening Ceremy on 3 October 2010.

The baton has been designed by Micheal Foley who is a graduate from National Institute of Design. The message from the Queen was inscirbed in a jewel encrusted box. There have been a couple of technologies used in the Baton -

• The ability to capture images and sound.
• GPS Technology to track the location of the Baton.
• LEDs that change color representing country’s flag depending on the country where it is.
• Text messaging feature to send message of congratulaton and encouragement to the Baton bearers throughout the relay.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games are going to be most expensive Commonwealth Games ever. The total costs of the game are likely to exceed US$1.6 Billion and this does not includes the money that has been spent on the city infrastructure – roads, airports, health and many more.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games at Melbourne had a budget of US$1.1 Billion. The difference in the amount of money that Delhi is spending over the Commonwealth Games 2010 is huge. There has been a lot of improvement in Delhi that has been brought out by Commonwealth. It is no doubt that the capital is going to have a remarkable change due to the games.