Were the Commonwealth Games a success?

They were for Tom Daley. (go on son!)
Not such a great PR exercise for New Delhi though.

They are finished ?

Oh...

Well nobody got blown up by terrorists, crushed inside one of the venues or killed by unsanitary athlete's village conditions, so from the point of the doomsayers it was probably a bit of a disapointment.

Rather like the lack of violent crime during the world cup in the summer.

As for the success of the games themselves, i suppose you'd have to look at global viewing figures - from my little corner of Blighty I didn't watch, and I have'nt heard any of my friends or work colleagues expressing an interest - but we may well not be a representative sample.

Sorry that some Western nations never respect others nations and it's culture. Where is Australia with all their allegations and I wish to ask if any of the competitors was sick or died during the games? My congratulations for the people of India.

A waste of money.

Commonwealth Games, finished, didn't know they were on, were was it?

I thought the Chilean Pipe Band were quite good.

Also noted was the new world record set by the Lib-ConDemnds for the U-turn. Individually, Veteran Cable put in a personal best for the high jump.

Aren't the hosts supposed to test the facilities before the Games commence ??

Good shot that pair, Kay and Jen.

Didn't watch any of it.

The Commonwealth is an anachronism.

Am glad India beat England though. I wish they would stop saying that the opening & closing spectacles were something we could rise to. The helium balloon looked too much like a big turban.

I think it a bit sad that a country with as much poverty and hardship as India can spend millions on these games (not to mention a space and nuclear weapons programme)

SHAME ON INDIA

There was a guy who studied hard throughout the year and came first (Beijing,Melbourne,Manchester) and,,,

there was a guy who studied only during examination days and surprisingly and shockingly came second (New Delhi),,,,

could have been much much better,,,,,I hope India learns lesson,,,,

there were some good moments, it's just a shame the locals didn't turn up,the sight of the empty seats will be what sticks in my mind

Let us be honest: the hygiene in India leaves a lot to be desired & I don't think that she will be hosting the Olympics or any other major Sporting events in a hurry unless & until she gets this one right.

9. At 3:39pm on 14 Oct 2010, ian cheese wrote:
Am glad India beat England though. I wish they would stop saying that the opening & closing spectacles were something we could rise to. The helium balloon looked too much like a big turban.

----

I didn't see it, but are you sure it wasn't meant to - they had a giant Bhudda in the opening ceremony - so a giant turban might have been meant in a similar context.....

Was the Commonwealth Games a success? The medals mean nothing in world standings; the Commonwealth itself is way past it's sell-by date; some athletes were knackered after a hectic season of world-class sporting events in Europe; the hosts caused a furore over facilities and readiness. Need I go on?

Sorry I must have missed them!
Too busy watching the rescue of the Chile miners - Now that was something worth watching!

The word like outstanding, sensation, awesome, brilliant, excellent are suitable but not the best to define the quality of arrangements and ceremonies conducted .. Wonderful show .. PROUD TO BE PART OF IT…May these games enhance friendships between the countries & spread joy of games across the word. Gurvinder

There were inflated initial hiccups with the OC caught on the wrong foot mostly unsanitary and septic loos, corruption et al. But then India kept shinning all the way till the end and all is well that ends well. Whatever, this was the first time that India had organized the CWG and it certainly deserves kudos for the smooth conduct of the events sans any security concerns and a successfull conclusion of the Games. Almost all the participating nations were happy and had words of praise for the organizers. Moreover, India was happier this time for clinching 101 medals ranking second in the tally and this was her all-time record.

2. At 3:21pm on 14 Oct 2010, SSnotbanned wrote:

They are finished ?

Oh..."

They've started ?

Oh...

Games? When? Where? Why are these things always kept secret? It's like a private garden party or something. The international sports media didn't waste a drop of ink reporting on any games in India they probably didn't believe such a thing could happen in a such a country. You can't trust anybody anymore to tell you the truth. They're all snobs.

I honestly think that no-one really cares. Perhaps they've just had their day.

Is it too late to cancel Glasgow 2014? I'm sure we've got better things to spend our money on

Were they on? Must have missed it!

These Commonwealth Games in Delhi were a good rehearsal for our Olympic athletes in 2012 but whether they were a boost to India's economy and tourist trade remains to be seen? Some of the crowd attendances were abysmal and the bad publicity concerning the last minute preparations and cleaning up put a real damper on the overall impressions prior to the start.

Have they started then?

"
16. At 3:59pm on 14 Oct 2010, Jaydee wrote:

Sorry I must have missed them!
Too busy watching the rescue of the Chile miners - Now that was something worth watching!
"

What, even better than watching the pope?

I think it was a success although there were a lot of empty seats in almost all of the events. The most unfortunate thing in this commonwealth game was those who didn't bother to show up in the game and I hope India would do better next time to impress the world (yes, including China). For those who pointed the fingers at India for an inferior game preparation even before it started, I hope England can keep up with the expectation and won't make even a slight mistake in the coming Olympics game or else London 2012 will become a laughing stock.

"
10. At 3:43pm on 14 Oct 2010, HeavyWoollenWhite wrote:

I think it a bit sad that a country with as much poverty and hardship as India can spend millions on these games (not to mention a space and nuclear weapons programme)

SHAME ON INDIA
"

Still, at least the Indian Government can rely on the British tax payer for such extra cash.

The measure of success is the money they make. That is the yardstick for the future. If money was made then -Yes. As for the athletes, they can sell their medals when they get old and have to finance their own care. When these games come to Glasgow our teams should make a lot of money in the hop skip and jump competitions and the egg n spoon race. Who cares.

With the number of empty seats - when are we going to learn that forever building sports stadia for every event is a waste of money which most ordinary people cannot afford to lose?

"12. At 3:46pm on 14 Oct 2010, spluffy wrote:
there were some good moments, it's just a shame the locals didn't turn up,the sight of the empty seats will be what sticks in my mind"

Perhaps they couldn't afford them.....

I couldn't care less

What! Finished?

Very food presentation by Glasgow. All the best to team Glasgow for 2014. May GOD keep the critics away from the
CGW 2014 Galsgow Organizers. They don't help other then demotivate people involve. Best Wishes from India

[4. At 3:29pm on 14 Oct 2010, MICHAEL wrote:
Sorry that some Western nations never respect others nations and it's culture. Where is Australia with all their allegations and I wish to ask if any of the competitors was sick or died during the games? ]

No-one died, but yes, quite a few competitors were ill during the games.

10. At 3:43pm on 14 Oct 2010, HeavyWoollenWhite wrote:

I think it a bit sad that a country with as much poverty and hardship as India can spend millions on these games (not to mention a space and nuclear weapons programme)

SHAME ON INDIA

---------------------------------------------------

I think it's a bit sad that a country with worst child poverty in Western Europe, pentioners starving themselves to death, can't afford life-saving medicine for patients and dire education standard can afford sending their "defense" force to "attack" other nations bombing their cities and killing thousands of innocence lives.

SHAME ON BRITAIN !!!

Look at the energy in the stadium , joy , smiles , passion , ambiance … enough to prove if people liked it .. the purpose of games to bring all together is well achieved. At the end it’s the WIN for the games

LOL.

It should be re-named the Commondebt games.

Indian taxpayers will be paying for it for some time.

only watced tom daley cant stand indian music awful row worse than strictly come dancing and thats bad enough perhaps amiracle might accur no more strictly those who watch it get alife print if u dare

Oh dear, I seem to have completely missed the whole affair!

Did the toilets flush OK?

Non event for pampered wasters of lottery and public funds,who cares about the Commonwealth anyway?

Were the Commonwealth Games a success?

First a bit of English cynicism.

Yes!!!!

I did not watch the games,none of my acquaintances watched the games,from what I have heard on news reports there were very few spectators in the various stadiums.Perhaps there is so much bad news in this country that people could not be bothered watching,or perhaps there was a bias against watching anything from India.The Commonwealth no longer means anything to people,except perhaps politicians and royalty,when they can use it as an excuse to visit other countries at our expense or to gorge themselves at banquets.The commonwealth means unwanted unfettered immigration from India and Pakistan.Sorry,the commonwealth is dead as a concept,it should now be buried.

I have enjoyed the games very much despite the few hiccups that have occured.

I have to say that the BBC totally ruined the wonderful closing ceremony by talking over the music throughout - how rude. Please learn when to be quiet and let us listen to what is going on.

Well done India. It's shame on our athletes who didn't go to these game fearing terrorism, and desease. It seems they missed one of the best commonwealth games thus far. Glasgow has lots of work to do. It would have been sad if these games only went to Western World countries.

Great work India..

Mike Fennel is spot on. The Delhi Games defied critics and showed that India could host a successful Commonwealth Games. There were a lot of naysayers at the beginning who were determined to pour scorn at the efforts of the Indian government and organisers. Now that the games are over, the Indian government and organisers can draw a lot of satisfaction from the success of the games. Better late than never! But they could also learn some important lessons like not postponing important construction work till the the last moment.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

What's the Commonwealth?

I didn't watch any of it but would be interested to see what the BBC viewing figures were.

"
35. At 4:54pm on 14 Oct 2010, Mahatma of Great Britain wrote:

10. At 3:43pm on 14 Oct 2010, HeavyWoollenWhite wrote:

I think it a bit sad that a country with as much poverty and hardship as India can spend millions on these games (not to mention a space and nuclear weapons programme)

SHAME ON INDIA

---------------------------------------------------

I think it's a bit sad that a country with worst child poverty in Western Europe, pentioners starving themselves to death, can't afford life-saving medicine for patients and dire education standard can afford sending their "defense" force to "attack" other nations bombing their cities and killing thousands of innocence lives.

SHAME ON BRITAIN !!!
"

There's a big different with so called child poverty in the UK and that which occurs in 3rd world countries like India. In the UK, child poverty means only two of your eight kids have access to a play station 3, while in India in means two out of your eight kids will die before they reach school age.

The way India and other 3rd world countries allows it's peoples' to be exploited is a disgrace, after all, Indian has almost as many billionaires (US Dollars) as the UK has.

"
44. At 5:32pm on 14 Oct 2010, The Londoner wrote:

Glasgow has lots of work to do.
"

Nothing a 10 mega tonne thermal nuclear explosion could not take care of.

I never watched a single minute of them. A total waste of licence money to me. Why do TV companies think that everyone wants to watch sport for hour after hour.

I hate all sport on TV. If there was never another minute of sports coverage on TV, I would not mind at all.

"
43. At 5:29pm on 14 Oct 2010, Mark wrote:

I have enjoyed the games very much despite the few hiccups that have occured.

I have to say that the BBC totally ruined the wonderful closing ceremony by talking over the music throughout - how rude. Please learn when to be quiet and let us listen to what is going on.
"

Let's all hope the BBC cut costs and give rights of future games (if there are any more) free of charge to Sky.

51. At 5:53pm on 14 Oct 2010, inchindown2 wrote:
I never watched a single minute of them. A total waste of licence money to me. Why do TV companies think that everyone wants to watch sport for hour after hour.

----

Can't blame the beeb for this one.

The government make them show it.

Seriously.

"
48. At 5:50pm on 14 Oct 2010, inkerman1943 wrote:

I didn't watch any of it but would be interested to see what the BBC viewing figures were.
"

They'd be bumped up that's for sure!

Not for me. The world's most watched, technical and skillful sport lost it's best BBC presenter to, and for the duration of, these games. Black mark for the Beeb's Director of Sport.

53. At 6:02pm on 14 Oct 2010, Horse wrote:
Why do TV companies think that everyone wants to watch sport for hour after hour.
------------------
Aye, it is for the unfit dimwits or those who need a life to fill in their time. I don't think the majority of people care a toss whether it is Mr. Patel or Mr. Smith who won gold at Wrestling or Rowing, etc. At the end of the day there's got to be something more interesting than a preoccupation with Sports eg. gardening or beachcombing or a quiet pint.

watched bits and pieces, but not interested in most sports that were on.
closing ceremony ruined by stereotypical scottish rubbish, kilts bagpipes etc. and i am scottish.

Thank you India on a great games.

You proved all the naysayers wrong.

Glasgow will have a tough act to follow, but we'll welcome everyone with open arms and celebrate the Commonwealth in our own way.

Well done to India.

FOr me they were the best commonwealth games ever. I managed to get through the entire rigmarole without once catching it on television.

They weren't as bas as I thought they were going to be.
Having said that, so many competitors were laid low with stomach problems that the medal winners were sometimes just the healthiest on the day rather than the best athlete.
Some of the officiating was a bit iffy too eg. athletics starts and boxing.

a waste of time money and effort

We have the Olympics, the World Championships, the European Championships and no doubt there are American Championships.

Th CW's are from a long gone era, money would be better spent on helping the former colonies where we (the Brits) plundered the wealth and resources, into helping them from poverty and disease.

Were the Commonwealth Games a success?

-----------

BBC you & given all the negative comments here "brits" in general are a disgrace.

The CWG were a tremendous success.

Now go back & stay quiet on that puny little island of yours. You are getting more irrelevant by the day.

It was an education for India! I think they have learned much and very quickly.

I would encourage the 2020 Olympics to go to Delhi.

Watching people run around in circles, jumping up and down and throwing things is not my idea of entertainment consequently I have not watched any of it.
Watching grass grow would be marginally more interesting.

Nobody cared much. Elitist. Some drug cheats.....roll on the Olympics lol

63. At 6:50pm on 14 Oct 2010, righteoussasquatch wrote:
It was an education for India! I think they have learned much and very quickly.

I would encourage the 2020 Olympics to go to Delhi.

-------------

It will be the end for the Olympics, Lol!
Can I credit you with idealism or cynicism?

No one actually cared. Tom Daley did well but like most people I only watched the bit on the evening news. I did try to watch it one evening but the panel were so obviously bored with it all I gave up. No one at work has even mentioned them and even the guys who follow sports have not watched it.

Great fun for the competitors and useful for their preparation but no reason for them to take place at all.

By the way India is a very rich country which prefers not to spend its money on the poor and disadvantaged. After all the UK can provide them with money for that.

For the Indian nation is was...
How to lose centuries of credibility in one event!
For Britain...
An embarrassing confirmation of the end of the end of Empire!
For the Athletes...for some...
A triumph of dedication and focus
And for some others......
A drug bust!!

What's does the Commonwealth mean nowadays? Should be the question!

Well it's over, and none of the competitors seems to have died or suffered life-altering ill effects, which is a positive.

Other than that, it was a complete mess from start to finish and everyone involved with this fiasco should be ashamed of themselves.

Spoiled Westerners can blow everything out of proportion. A normal event for the third world. Just didn't measure up to Beijing Olympics, then it isn't supposed to. London wouldn't measure up to Beijing either.

Frankly, it was a non-event. Nobody knew about it, therefore what was the point? Bad planning, bad organization, no PR, bad everything. The Bollywood people, given a chance, would have done a tremendous job.

They were a great success, despite the best efforts of a racist British media and several BBC commentators to do everything they could to ruin the event! Well done to New Delhi ... incredible India!

Anglo Scot wrote:

No one actually cared. Tom Daley did well but like most people I only watched the bit on the evening news. I did try to watch it one evening but the panel were so obviously bored with it all I gave up. No one at work has even mentioned them and even the guys who follow sports have not watched it.

Great fun for the competitors and useful for their preparation but no reason for them to take place at all.

By the way India is a very rich country which prefers not to spend its money on the poor and disadvantaged. After all the UK can provide them with money for that.
*************************************************************
Those of us who enjoy REAL sport did care, actually. Perhaps you should have watched something other than the dire main channel coverage the BBC offered. As with all their sporting efforts these days, they spend all their funds on presenters and hasbeens and almost none on actual broadcasting. Well done to Denise Lewis for trying her best to keep the bigots in check, though!

Sometimes it's difficult to understand some of the misery of some of the people in here, particularly when they post from a privileged and wealthy country such as the UK.

Perhaps I am somehow biased because I was a volunteer in the Manchester Games in 2002, but I don't think so. It seems obvious to me that India/Delhi has made a great success of hosting the Games, and I think their "overall 2nd place" has been a wonderful result for India. And look at the performances of so many of the other countries, and the individuals involved!

70. At 7:11pm on 14 Oct 2010, 24 years and counting wrote: Well it's over, and none of the competitors seems to have died or suffered life-altering ill effects which is a positive.

It was a positive to go with the urine sample ones.

Well, at least we have couple of years to reverse out of that festering mess left by NewLieMore...yep the olympics...

Does anyone else think that people's viewing tastes are becoming too sophisticated to watch people running around or throwing things? I personally find it a little tedious now, though maybe years ago it held more interest.

71. At 7:15pm on 14 Oct 2010, Ali Haider Kazmi wrote: Spoiled Westerners can blow everything out of proportion. A normal event for the third world sn't supposed to. London wouldn't measure up to Beijing either

London will be a joke for sure. A waste of money on something of limited appeal. And athletics is full of cheats....I think cameron should scrap them as part of the austerity measures.

#1 Rubbish Girl

I owe Mr Daley an apology then.

Whilst channel hopping I saw this kid dive into the water with another bloke and thought it was a British Film Council remake of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". I wondered why there were no guns.

I'll pay more attention next time....

Managed to miss every single second of this sorry affair. I assume that all of the pre-games teething problems were resolved. Did we win any medals? Not sure why I am asking, as I don't really give a toss!!

Sad to see so many cynical posts.

I was blown away by the opening ceremony and wasn't aware of the existence of some of the tiny island nations that are still a part of the commonwealth.

The commonwealth may well be past it's sell by date, but where else do the lawn bowling teams from the Pitcairn islands or the badminton team from the Norfolk Islands get a chance to compete on the world stage.

It was a truly wonderful spectacle to behold.

Sorry, I did miss nearly all the actual competition but I was the same with the Olympics too.

Let’s go Tonga!! Yaaaay. But seriously, check out the link below.

https://www.espnstar.com/other-sports/cwg/nations/

Quite the geography lesson ;)

At 3:21pm on 14 Oct 2010, SSnotbanned wrote:
They are finished ?

Oh...
______________________________________________--

I didn't know they had even started!!!

No, complete Joke in Delhi!! They were never prepared properly!! Even Greece managed to prepare the Olympics quicker than the commonwealth games.

At least when they get to Glasgow we know they will be prepared and will have hygenic and healthy games.

When was the last time a game had so many competitors feeling ill??

Lots of people claiming they didn't care which is totally fine ofcourse (not everyone is going to enjoy sports..let alone fairly minority ones!) but why write about them?

Must have better things to do!

Anyway the games actually turned out ok and TBH I think our press shouldn't criticise too much seeing as we have a much bigger event in 2 years where a lot more could go wrong..hopefully not ofcourse!

Well done to those who did compete and won medals despite in somecases being ill.

Made up for the dross that was the England football match...but then ofcourse swimmers/athletes etc aren't paid millions even if they are generally rubbish meaning they have to "work" for success.

commonwealth games in India,something left over from the days of the empire,hence the poor attendance of spectators, a non profitable time for the indian government,must have been pulling on their beards in fear of a return of the super race,if only for a short visit,to remind the young people of India of the challenges ahead of them in future days.

Commonwealth and success are two opposing concepts in a capitalist dictatorship, whilst, success and capitalism most certainly amount to games of a criminal definition and evolution, but, it’s only a blood sport and very entertaining for profit collectors which might explain why poorer members of the commonwealth failure could not afford to attend.

Between the commonwealth and camp hope at the Gold mines with the phoenix it's interesting to note the BBC hardly mentioned the $1.4 billion paid to bankers in the commonwealth success...wow, great public news service. Did you get a cut form the silence of the lambs club?

I enjoyed it!

India did brilliant.

Well done. I hope they get to host the olympic games someday. With a few improvements, it'd be one of the best.

Lets hope they beat an American city to it just like London and Rio did to NYC and Chicago! :D

Were the Commonwealth Games a success?
Well, i watched Fifteen minutes of the opening ceremony.
But i'm sure at least the BBC team had a good jolly!

88. At 9:17pm on 14 Oct 2010, Planet Mars wrote: I enjoyed it! India did brilliant Well done. I hope they get to host the olympic games someday. With a few improvements, it'd be one of the best. Lets hope they beat an American city to it just like London and Rio did to NYC and Chicago! :D

Lol I expect America is quite pleased not to have the expense of hosting the dreary events. Lucky them for not having the dubious "honour" ;D

90. Re:

The reason why America wasn't given it is quite simple. They suck and noone in the world really likes them.

India as a country have proudly presented commonwealth games before the world and no doubt in stating that it’s a big success... I do admit there had been some hiccups prior to the start of this event... But India managed it very well and ended up in delivering spectacular games...
In India press enjoys its freedom as any other democratic country... and it has played a major role in shaping this country... We welcome all the feedbacks regarding the games... It has been our culture to accept new ideas and feedbacks with open mind... Our democratic structures are powerful enough to analyse all the feedbacks which we got and to take necessary actions... But do remember that criticism should be constructive...
The success of commonwealth games has created a positive feeling all over India... I belong to a southern state in India which is thousand miles away from Delhi and the vibrations created by games is evident here with the posters congratulating our new heroes on the streets... So far we had only Sachin, Dravid, Dhoni etc to cheer for... But games have given us new heroes... Gagan Narang, Saina Nehwal, Sushil kumar, Krishna poonia and lot more...
What’s the aim of organising a multi sports event like this...? Is it to inspire the youth and to popularise many events....? If so Delhi games have been a big success in delivering its major aim...

India can afford this and Nukes but not to feed its own people. Good to see they know their priorities.

Dw! Is it over, then?

It is the actual functioning of the games that matters and it was undoubtedly, absolutely, a big success. Kudos to everybody involved in this grand exercise!

It was quite uneventful really so NO not a success.

Although some athlete's did get banned for taking drugs but that happens every year.

I wonder about the question. I too was utterly critical prior to the games. Being an Indian it disgusted me more than people of other countries. However, I was humbled when I saw how the games were conducted and ended. Given the complexity that open India is and on top of that the threats of terrorism, I give India FIVE STARS. And I also wonder if any country (matching India's complexity) could match such a performance!

And those supposedly great athletes who did not attend the games due to this or that reason, were not only cowards, but not worthy of international competition.

Finally, I sure hope that India and Indian organizers have learned some important lessons.

4. At 3:29pm on 14 Oct 2010, MICHAEL wrote:
//
Sorry that some Western nations never respect others nations and it's culture. Where is Australia with all their allegations and I wish to ask if any of the competitors was sick or died during the games? My congratulations for the people of India.
//

-Talking of allegations, you might recall some months ago riots in India over what was perceived to be the racist killing of an Indian boy in Melbourne (well before any police investigation had even begun).

It was subsequently discovered that the boys uncle had killed him.

People in glass houses.....

Mr.HeavyWoollenWhite,
Are you blind enough not to see your so called rich countries who have grown fat with the blood of poor countries of Asia and Africa come begging at the door step of Indian market. Now you can decide shame on whom.

The Party and pageant are over, back to the grinding poverty on the streets, the crime, the walls of the buildings used as public urinals, soon the paint will be pealing off and the pool will be filled with algae, this is India and there is nothing called preventive maintenance, most of the rulers are busy lining their pockets before the next election. India has won medals because it is unable to win in the Olympics where other South East nations are also competing, especially the Chinese and Korean. Build public toilets, public rest areas on your highways, free phones for emergency and good, helpful, honest policemen to assist those who are stranded. Your "Make-up and Lip gloss", in New Delhi is going to wipe off and the truth about your character is going to shine brightly.