As the Commonwealth Games commence today, a look at some of the interesting facts about the sporting extravaganza, which is second only to the Olympics, going by the number of countries participating and athletes on show:
As the Commonwealth Games commence today, a look at some of the interesting facts about the sporting extravaganza, which is second only to the Olympics, going by the number of countries participating and athletes on show:
1. The Commonwealth Games held once every four years is a unique, world class event which was first referred to as the ‘Friendly Games’.
2. The first Commonwealth Games were held in Canada in 1930.
3. The Commonwealth is made up by 53 member countries and each of those countries qualifies to compete
4. Australia leads the way with a staggering 803 Gold medals, the only nation with over 2,000 medals
5. Scotland has previously hosted the Commonwealth Games twice, in 1970 and 1986, both in Edinburgh.
6. The Queen’s Baton travelled around the Commonwealth for 288 days before the Games covering more than 118,000 miles. The first Queens Baton Relay was staged for the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.
7. At the 2014 Games there will be 6,500 athletes from 71 nations competing in 17 sports over 11 days.
8. The Games are made up of 10 core sports and then the other 7 can be selected by the host.
9. In the first Commonwealth Games to be staged only 400 athletes from 11 countries took part.
10. At the 2014 Games, five sports will run 22 Para-Sport medal events, the highest number of events to date.