GAMES

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

Hambantota are reportedly paying British firm pmplegacy, part of the London-based Chime Communications, at least Rs. 336 million (£1.9 million) to help its the 2018 Commonwealth Games, according to Sri Lankan Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage (pictured left).

"In order to prepare the bid documents for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and for promotional campaigns we have offered the contract to a British PR Firm pmplegacy," Aluthgamage is reported saying the Sunday Leader.

"The exact amount is known to Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal as he is the chairman of the organising committee that handles the finances."

The Sunday Leader claimed that the money will come out of the Rs. 500 million (£2.8 million) Sri Lanka is paying public relations firm Bell Pottinger, another firm who are part of Chime, to boost its post-war image.

Its stablemate, pmplegacy, has a long and distinguished 25-year track record of working with leading cities around the world on the evaluation, bidding, planning and delivery of major sporting events.

The company has worked on a wide range of major events while some of its high-profile clients include the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Fifteen representatives from this pmplegacy are now said to be in Sri Lanka working on full time basis as they prepare the 2018 Commonwealth Games bid document from their Rajagiriya office.

Hambantota are up against Australia's Gold Coast in their bid to secure the 2018 Commonwealth Games with a decision set to be made on where the event will be held at a meeting in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11.

According to Aluthgamage, the deal with pmplegacy covers the cost for bid documentation, promotional campaigns, canvassing and entertainment costs.

"We will be holding the Asian Beach Games at Hambantota in August," he said.

"This would certainly help to boost the country's image.

"In addition the Cricket Board, the Foreign Ministry, Football Federation and National Olympic Committee are working closely to get support from the Commonwealth countries

The Sports Minister claimed that it is essential to raise awareness that Sri Lanka is no longer a war ravaged country.

"People in some countries fear to visit Sri Lanka," he said.

"We have to change this attitude.

"This can only be done through promotional campaigns."

If Sri Lanka wins the bid, the cost of hosting the games is expected to be a mammoth Rs. 500 billion (£3.12 million) which will mainly go towards building new stadia and constructing the Athletes' Village.

Peter Mann, the founder and chair of pmplegacy, told insidethegames: "Any figure agreed between the Hambantota 2018 bid team and pmplegacy is completely confidential."

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year

Cardiff has begun the process to decide whether it should bid to bring the Commonwealth Games back to the Welsh capital, 68 years after it last staged them.

The city has opened discussions with the Welsh Government about launching a campaign to bid for the 2026 Games with the Millennium Stadium as the centrepiece.

Meetings have been held with Wales' Government Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones and is hoping to get the backing of the Welsh Assembly to stage the event for the first time since 1958.

"Cardiff has always had an ambition to host the Commonwealth Games, since the late 1990s we've been talking about it,"Steve Morris, the sports development manager for Cardiff Council, told the Western Mail.

"We originally talked about bidding for the 2014 Games, then 2022, but we wanted to bide our time and get it right."

The plans include installing an athletics track in the Millennium Stadium, the home of the Welsh rugby team.

The idea of a bid from Cardiff has become a more realistic prospect following a fact-finding trip to last year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

"Obviously Delhi had its problems, especially with the Athletes' Village, and I learned a lot from my trip there," said Morris.

"It gave us some ideas for how to do some things, and how not to do other things.

"One interesting idea was having dedicated Commonwealth lanes on major roads - like the M4.

"This would allow quick access for competitors to the venues."

Cardiff_programme_from_1958When Cardiff hosted the Games in 1958 1,122 athletes from 35 countries took part in ten sports.

In Delhi 6,081 athletes from 71 countries took part in 17 sports.

Chris Jenkins, executive director of the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales, said keeping the costs down is important.

"We've got a lot of venues in Cardiff and around South Wales we can modify and use in any bid," he said.

"It's important to remember the bid process is very long and complicated.

"I think we're well placed, though, and there's been a lot of work done in the last six months to lay the groundwork for a strong bid.

"Whether it's 2022 or 2026 doesn't matter, I'd urge people not to get hung up on the date.

"The important thing is we don't end up with a load of white elephants like Athens did after the [2004] Olympics with stadiums and venues they can't use for any other purpose."

A potential problem for Cardiff's bid, however, could be that Birmingham is also considering a bid - but for 2022.

It is unlikely that the Commonwealth Games Federation would award the Games to two cities in Britain back-to-back, especially as Glasgow is already hosting 2014.

But Lynn Davies, the 1968 Olympic long jump champion who is arguably Wales' best-ever athlete and is now the President of UK Athletics, is backing the proposed bid from Cardiff.

"When you look at what Wales has staged in the last decade, with the FA Cup finals, the Rugby World Cup and the Ryder Cup, I think Cardiff really is a sport city," he told the Western Mail.

"Why not capitalise on it and show the rest of the world what Cardiff and Wales has got?"

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

LENN Hypolite captured Trinidad and Tobago’s first ever gold medal at the Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships on Monday.

He won the Men’s Welterweight Division at the 5th Commonwealth Championships in Chennai, India, beating Dale Rhodie of Scotland in the final by three points to one.

The final was delayed by three hours but Hypolite had already made himself known to the international community following his impressive performances in the earlier rounds.

On the way to the ring, Rhodie’s coach could be heard instructing him “Watch out for the back kick.”

This kick became popular after Hypolite used it effectively to defeat his counterpart in the semi-finals Kumar Kundu of Bangladesh 8-4.

The lengthy break ahead of the start of the final helped Hypolite, the 2008 Pan American silver medallist to recuperate following a tough semi-final encounter.

TT’s other entrant Avin Maharaj was beaten by Vanlairuata of India on the second day of the championships.

Maharaj made slow start but found rhythm in the second round, but was trailing by one point. In the third and final round Maharaj received a kick to the head which took him out of the contest.

What Is The Flag Handover Ceremony?

The Flag Handover Ceremony marks the flag handover from Delhi 2010 to Glasgow 2014 and includes an 8 minute creative programme to showcase Glasgow and Scotland to the rest of the Commonwealth.

The creative part of the Flag Handover Ceremony has not always been featured to the extent it is today. This portion of the ceremony has steadily become more extravagant over the years. At the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Flag Handover Ceremony, passing the flag to Delhi 2010 lasted 11 minutes – a Commonwealth record.

The Flag Handover Ceremony not only marks the Games passing from Delhi to Glasgow, but it also gives Scotland the opportunity to show, for the first time, to a global audience of around 1 billion, what it’s capable of.

Through the creative set, Glasgow invites the Commonwealth to participate in what are now effectively Scotland's Games, at the same time as India bids them farewell.

Procedures involved at the actual "handover" of the flag

The “handover” in the Flag Handover Ceremony refers to the official handing over of the Games to the new host city and all the responsibilities that go along with it. This happens at the exact moment the Lord Provost of Glasgow is presented with the Commonwealth Games Federation Flag; a symbolic gesture of Games ownership.

The CGF flag will be lowered by military personnel and passed to the Chief Minister of the Delhi Government, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, who will then pass the flag to the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Mike Fennell, who will then pass the flag to the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Bob Winter. The Lord Provist will then deliver a short speech which will be directly followed by the Flag Handover Ceremony.

At the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne 2006, the Handover to Delhi featured a vibrant and colourful display of Bollywood stars and music. Bollywood and Hollywood stars Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukheriee and Saif Ali Khan took part in the performance to the choreographed steps of Shiamak Dayer.

The Queen closed the Manchester 2002 Games in the City of Manchester Stadium in front of 38,000 spectators. The ceremony mixed pop with pomp. Around 40,000 balloons were released into the rainy Manchester sky as the handover ceremony concluded with a spectacular fireworks display.

Source: www.insidethegames.bizBy Tom Degun in New Delhi

October 16 – Nalin Attygalle (pictured left), the man behind Hambantota's bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, claimed it would have been wrong for the Sri Lankan city to give a presentation to voters at an annual meeting ahead of the Opening Ceremony as it could have been viewed as an attack on India.

The Hambantota team were widely criticised for failing to give an optional presentation on their bid to Prince Edward, the Vice Patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), and other high ranking officials who will decide where the 2018 Games will be held.

The Gold Coast in Australia, Hambantota's only rival for the event, gave a flawless performance at the meeting.

However, Attygalle said that while Hambantota regret the fact they couldn't show voters the strength of their bid in a presentation, they made the decision so as not to upset their strong allies India.

Attygalle told insidethegames: "Avoiding the presentation is something we have been heavily criticised for and something Hambantota would like to address, so let me explain.

"The presentations were scheduled to take place prior to the Opening Ceremony, and if you think back to what the circumstances were like for Delhi back then, the whole world - particularly the Indian media - were heavily criticising the Games and the Organising Committee.

"They were saying things like the Games is not going to happen, it is a complete failure and that only bad things will happen from the event.

"Some of the Western media were even saying it was the wrong decision to award the Games to an Asian country.

"Now, India is like Sri Lanka's big brother and at a time when India is under attack, does anybody really want Hambantota and Sri Lanka - a close friend of India - to give a presentation saying we can do a much better job than Delhi when the city is in trouble?


"If we had shown the strength of our bid at that stage, as another Asian city, it would have highlighted some of Delhi's weaknesses in the build-up to the Games and it could have had huge repercussions on the relationship between India and Sri Lanka.

"Therefore, it was a strategic decision we made as a team not to take up the kind offer to give an optional presentation.

"Yes, missing an opportunity to showcase what a fantastic Commonwealth Games Hambantota can host in 2018 is one minus point but maintaining good relations going forward is two plus points.

"We also knew from the start that India would do a far better job than the media had predicted so we thought it would be best for us to start our talking after Delhi now that things have gone quite well, as we predicted.

"India showed they have world class facilities to host a major sporting event and though there were a few problems along the way, that is a minor issue and India has done well.

"If you now ask to hear about Hambantota, we would be delighted to tell all about our beautiful city because India has overcome criticism to show that Asia can host a Commonwealth Games and host it well."

Attygalle added that a 2018 Commonwealth Games in Hambantota would be far different to Delhi 2010 because India was aiming to prove it could host an Olympic and Paralympic Games in the future.

He said: "India have built their Commonwealth Games on a huge scale so it has been like a mini-Olympics.

"It looks very much like the Games have been designed as a platform for the Olympics.

"But my only concern with that is that Commonwealth standards and Olympic standards are two different things.

"In the future, I think we must be aware of this and Hambantota would certainly conduct the Games in a far more compact way.

"The city is building and improving its infrastructure all the time following the devastation of the Tsunami [which decimated the country in 2004] and the Commonwealth Games would really help us continue to do that and provide a real sporting legacy to the people of Sri Lanka.

"We would conduct the 2018 Games in a very organised, very efficient way so that it wouldn't have any of the logistical problems Delhi had.

"But we on the Hambantota 2018 bid team are very proud of Delhi for showing that an Asian country can host a strong Commonwealth Games and I have learnt so much from being here and participating in the Candidate City Observer programme.


"We can now take the strengths of Delhi but also learn from the weaknesses."