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India Calling
79 years ago, in the year 1930, the 1st commonwealth games were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where 11 nations sent 400 athletes to take part in the event. At the moment the clock strikes 10 am, the date is June 6, 2008! Exactly 849 days, 5 hrs 51min and 13 sec from now, India will finally make history by hosting the 20th commonwealth games in 2010 from 3rd to 14th October. The event will shoot India into the limelight for being the second Asian nation after Malaysia, to host the games.
Delhi, the capital of the biggest democracy in the world, is the city which has been honored with this opportunity to host the world's 3rd largest sporting event. India took over the commonwealth flag from Melbourne on the closing ceremony of 2006 commonwealth games, since then it has been gearing up to meet the international standards for holding such a grand event. Hosting such an event is a matter of great pride for India as well as Delhi. Delhi won this golden chance of hosting the games by defeating 22 other contesting nations by 46 votes. Such an event would not only bring fame and glory to the city, but it will also boost the tourism, and Delhi is bracing itself for it.
Infrastructure development
The prime concern of Delhi government has been to develop infrastructure of the city to host the 2010 commonwealth games Delhi has been working on it for five years now, by the end of 2009, Delhi aims at becoming a world class city with excellent infrastructure along with transport and gaming facilities. Master plans have been made to improve Delhi's face which includes 10 new flyover projects, there are plans to increase the green stretches along the road sides and flyovers. A number of stadiums are being built and renovated for the game venues. Delhi's public transport facilities are also being developed by the introduction of low lying buses, and BRT (Bus rapid transit) corridors are being constructed to improve the city's messy transport condition. The commonwealth games 2010, costing a sum of Rs.5, 165 crore, will be bringing tens of thousands of visitors. The only time when Delhi saw so many foreigners in the city was in 1982, during the Asiad games.
The venues
The venues for the sporting events will be spread all across the city. The events will be Rugby, Weightlifting, Squash, Table Tennis, Aquatics, Athletics, Gymnastics, Hockey, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing and Triathlon. The events will be taking place in the already existing outdoor and indoor stadiums like Indira Gandhi Indoor Complex, Talkatora Indoor stadium, Siri Fort Sports Complex along with a number of newly constructed stadiums in Delhi University and other places. An entire Games Village is coming up in Noida which will be the main venue for most of the gaming events.
Games village
A new state-of-the-art Games Village is being built by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) with a focus on maximizing athlete comfort. The site is off the National Highway 24 adjacent to the Akshardham temple at the Noida intersection. To be created at a cost of USD 230.7 million (including Residential Zone), the Games Village will be spread over an area of 63.5 hectare (158.4 acre). The games village is a cornerstone of the Delhi government's plans to transform the capital into a "global city". Like most of the frantic real estate development happening in and around Delhi as part of these plans, the Games Village too is being built by private builders; the MGF group in partnership with the Dubai based Emaar Properties. The site will be ready by the end of next year. Within its immediate vicinity exist internationally known monuments and landmarks like the Bahai Temple, Humayun's Tomb, Akshardham Temple etc. Surrounded with a dense green natural cover, the Village will provide a relaxing and soothing environment for the athletes and officials. This integrated township will have stadiums that will hold sports events. It will also have residential complexes to provide accommodations to participants, staff and volunteers.
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