Tourists spots in Delhi

Commonwealth Games or popularly known as Friendly Games is a quadrennial sporting event participated by Commonwealth Countries who were erstwhile British colonies. The objective behind the game is general welfare of the people of the Commonwealth through encouragement of education via sports development and physical recreation.

Started in 1930 in Hamilton (Canada) as British Empire Games, it took its new incarnation in 1974 as Commonwealth Games. Since its inception Commonwealth Games has seen spectacular increase in the number of athletes, number of participating countries and sporting events and at present it is the second biggest sporting event in the world after Olympic Games.

From Hamilton (1930) to Melbourne (2006) Commonwealth Games has traveled across the length and breadth of the globe showcasing extraordinary enthusiasm among the hosts and participating countries for last Eighteen times. For the Nineteenth times it is going to be held in New Delhi (the Capital City of India) in 2010 from 3rd October to 14th October. Commonwealth Games is going to set its foot for the first time in the sub-continent and for the second time in Asia after Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

New Delhi got this opportunity by defeating Canadian city of Hamilton by 46 to 22 votes in 2003 in Jamaica. New Delhi was chosen because of its dazzling charms, cosmopolitan culture, rich history along with warm people and liberal government.

Besides this New Delhi's fantastic geographical location and climate, architectural and monumental marvels, modern and vibrant industries and hospitality sector, sophisticated means of transportation and communication, richness of arts, crafts, dance and music and above all highly rich sporting culture are going to make this city the finest destination The Commonwealth Games has ever seen.

The New Delhi Commonwealth Games is to witness 8500 athletes of 85 Commonwealth teams participating in 17 sports. The motto of this game is "COME OUT AND PLAY". An upward spiraling wheel inspired by Ashok Chakra showcasing India's rise as a global power and its transition from tradition to modernity is chosen the Official Logo of 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The colour combination of the Official Logo symbolizes India's rich and vibrant diversity in culture and people. "Shera" the Royal Bengal Tiger, the national animal of India is the Official Mascot of New Delhi's Commonwealth Games which is claded with white sporting jersey and blue track paints.

Delhi is going to witness spectacular opening and closing ceremonies of 2010 Commonwealth Games with lot of fire works, dance, music, technological and computerized application and above all presence of many celebrities form almost all walks of life.

Games Village
The 2010 Commonwealth Games is going to be held in New Delhi. New Delhi is going to provide best ever accommodation facility to all athletes and officials attending the game. For this a completely new state-of -the-art Games Village is to be developed by Delhi Development Authority with an estimated cost of about $ 230 million.

The Village is to be developed along the bank of river Yamuna off National Highway No. 24 near Akshardham Temple at the Noida Mor. This is going to be a perfect location considering its surrounding filled with green scenic beauties, proximity to excellent visiting sites and having connected with excellent means of road and rail networks. According to the plan the completely new Games Village is to spread over 63.5 hectares of land. The ambitious project is going to accommodate about 8500 participating athletes and attending officials.

Atithi Devo Bhava is the trademark of Indian ways of hospitality and service to guest where guest is treated as God. This is to be the cornerstone of hospitality and services provides to athletes and officials at the Games Village. The Games Village is all set to translate traditional Indian hospitality into the best standard of comfort ever seen by the participating teams.

One cannot but must appreciate its lush green environment studded with lofty trees, green pastures and crop fields. This complex is surely going to give a soothing and relaxing avenue to the athletes to recover from tiredness and exhaustion. The most important advantage of the Commonwealth Games Village is the presence of some world famous site like Akshardham Temple, Red Fort, India Gate, Qutab Minar and Humayun's Tomb.

Besides natural and locational advantage government is going to make arrangements to make traveling of athletes an easy and comfortable affair. Therefore all the sporting venues are within the range of 10 km to 15 km distance from the Games Village. They can be easily reached within 10-15 munites from the Games Village. Delhi government is all set to connect the Games village with other venues of the Commonwealth Games by high quality roads and metro rail networks for smooth commuting of athlete, official and spectators.


Commonwealth Games
The 19TH edition of the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in New Delhi. Being a multi-sports event Commonwealth Game 2010 is to feature seventeen different sports. Commonwealth Games was just started in 1930 with only six sports on its programme: Athletics, Aquatics (Swimming & Diving) Boxing, Lawn Bowls, Rowing, and Wrestling. With the passage of time the Games have witnessed spectacular growth in terms of athletes, participating countries and sports.

The seventeen sports in the 2010 Commonwealth Games programme include some previously listed as well as some one. After hard bargaining of the Indian Olympic Association the organiser included archery and table tennis into the list. However due to lack of proper location for swimming stage triathlon was excluded from the programme. The 17 sports of the 2010 Commonwealth Games include Aquatics, Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball, Rugby 7s, Shooting, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling.

As per the guide lines given by the Commonwealth Games Federation Delhi the host city has included all the core sports like athletics, aquatics, lawn bowls, netball and rugby sevens which are mandatory in nature. In addition to this Delhi also included some approved sports like archery, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling.

The sport list has some men and women only events. The men-only events are boxing, rugby 7's and wrestling while women specific sports are netball and rhythmic gymnastics. There are some team sports like Hockey,

Rugby 7's and Netball. There is also a requirement to include some events for Elite Athletes with a Disability (EAD). This was introduced in the 2002 Games. At present there are 4 sports for EAD which include Athletics, Swimming, Table tennis and Powerlifting.

The detailed lists of 17 sports of the Commonwealth Games 2010 are given below.

* Aquatics
* Archery
* Athletics
* Badminton
* Boxing
* Cycling
* Gymnastics
* Hockey
* Lawn Bowls
* Netball
* Rugby 7s
* Shooting
* Squash
* Table Tennis
* Tennis
* Weightlifting
* Wrestling


Venues
The second biggest sports extravaganza of the world The Commonwealth Games is all set to take place in New Delhi in 2010. Eleven main venues of the city are to host the Games. Some of them are existing stadiums while others are newly built. Even the existing stadiums are renovated and upgraded to meet the international standard. Besides these main venues, which are to experience fierce competition of athletes in various events there are certain training venues. These training venues are there to provide adequate facility to athletes to prepare themselves before the actual competition. The host city is to witness five newly built stadiums including one indoor stadium at each in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for weightlifting, Indira Gandhi Stadium for wrestling, Siri Fort Sport Complex for badminton and squash and Yamuna Sports Complex for table tennis. All these venues are to be located near the Games Village at an average distance of 10-15 km. which can be traveled easily within 15 to 20 munites. All these venues along with the Games Village are to be inter-connected with each other by high quality roads and metro rail network.

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
The massive stadium located in C.G.O. complex was built in 1982. The third largest stadium in India is spread across 100 acres of land having a sitting capacity 78000 spectators. It is one of the best ground in India having synthetic tracks and floodlights facility. Besides Opening and Closing ceremony the stadium is going to host athletics, lawn bowls and weightlifting events in the coming Commonwealth Games.

Indira Gandhi Stadium
The largest indoor stadium in India located in Indraprasta Estate was built in 1982. Spreading across 102 acres of land it has a sitting capacity of 25000. The fully air conditioned indoor stadium has sophisticated audio and lightening system. This stadium is to be used for Cycling, Gymnastics and Wrestling events of the Commonwealth Games.

Dhyan Chand National Stadium
Located near India Gate the Field Hockey stadium has a holding capacity of 25000 spectators. Men's and Women's Field Hockey events of the Commonwealth Games are to be played here. It is adorned with modern facility like synthetic surface and electronics score board.

Siri Fort Sports Complex
A complete fully air-conditioned new stadium is to be built with four courts at Siri Fort complex. It is to be the main venue for squash and badminton for 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Talkatora Indoor Stadium
It is located on Willington Cresent Road. This stadium is to serve as Boxing venues for the coming Commonwealth Games. Besides boxing ring it has separate warm-up areas with total holding capacity of 3500 in persons.

Tyagraja Sports Complex
The multi-purpose air-conditioned indoor stadium is to be constructed to host netball event for 2010 Commonwealth Games. Two main courts, separate warm-up areas, electronics scoreboard and proper lightening facility are to be built here.

Yamuna Sports Complex
The fully air-conditioned indoor stadium is to be built to host Table Tennis for 2010 Commonwealth Games. There are two main courts with electronics scoreboards with 5000 in person holding capacity.

Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range
This facility is to host shooting competition for 2010 Commonwealth Games. There are different shooting ranges and ammunition storage facility in this stadium.

Delhi University Sports Complex
This outdoor sport complex is to be renovated to host Rugby 7's in the upcoming Commonwealth Games. When fully completed it is to hold 10000 spectators.

R.K. Khanna Tennis complex
This complex is to be used for Tennis event in the upcoming Commonwealth Games. It is to be so made to hold 6000 people with tennis courts.

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukharjee Swimming Complex
This complex is to be used for Aquatics swimming and diving events in Delhi Commonwealth Games. There are 3 temperature controlled main pools. The stadium holds 5000 spectators.

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