Host city | Melbourne, Australia |
---|---|
Motto | United by the moment |
Nations | 71 [1] |
Athletes | 4071 [2] |
Events | 245 in 17 sports |
Opening | 15 March 2006 |
Closing | 26 March 2006 |
Opened by | Elizabeth II |
Closed by | Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex |
Athlete's Oath | Adam Pine |
Queen's Baton Final Runner | John Landy |
Main venue | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
Part of a series on |
2006 Commonwealth Games |
---|
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: Narrm 2006 or Naarm 2006), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held in Melbourne, Australia between 15 and 26 March 2006. It was the fourth time Australia had hosted the Commonwealth Games. It was also the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.
More than 4,000 athletes from 71 Commonwealth Games Associations took part in the event. [3] Zimbabwe withdrew its membership from the Commonwealth of Nations and Commonwealth Games Federation on 8 December 2003 and so did not participate in the event. [4] With 245 sets of medals, the games featured 17 Commonwealth sports. These sporting events took place at 13 venues in the host city, two venues in Bendigo and one venue each in Ballarat, Geelong, Lysterfield Park and Traralgon. [5]
The site for the opening and closing ceremonies was the Melbourne Cricket Ground which was also used during 1956 Summer Olympics. [6] The mascot for the games was Karak, a red-tailed black cockatoo (a threatened species). [7] The official song of the games, "Together We Are One", was composed by the ARIA awardee Australian recording artist Delta Goodrem. During the closing ceremony of the games, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation Mike Fennell declared to the crowd "Melbourne, you are simply the best". [8]
For the first time in the history of the Commonwealth Games, the Queen's Baton visited every single Commonwealth nation and territory taking part in the Games, a journey of 180,000 km (112,500 miles). The relay ended when the Governor of Victoria, and former Commonwealth Games medallist, John Landy delivered the baton to Her Majesty the Queen at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the opening ceremony. [9]
The host nation Australia topped the medal table for the fifth time in the past five Commonwealth Games, winning the most golds (84) and most medals overall (221). England and Canada finished second and third respectively. [10]
The 2006 Commonwealth Games have been lauded as “best Commonwealth Games ever”. [11] A KPMG analysis of 2006 Commonwealth Games found the event prompted an increase in gross state product of about A$1.6 billion over a 20-year period and employment of about 13,600 jobs. [12]
During the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, two cities initially expressed interest in hosting the event; Melbourne, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand. [13] Wellington withdrew its bid, citing the costs involved with matching the bid plan presented by Melbourne, which became the default host without members of the Federation going to vote. [14] [15] [16]
City | Nation | Votes |
---|---|---|
Melbourne | Australia | Unanimous |
The following venues were used at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The sport(s) that were played at that venue are listed after it. [5]
Early concerns arose about the large cost of staging the Games, with projected costs likely to be over AUD 1 billion and a high likelihood the Victorian taxpayer would have to cover the expense. The cost was described in some local media as excessive. National Party leader Peter Ryan said that the Labor government should win "gold (medal) for burning money". [17] However, not all of this money was wasted. The actual costs for hosting the games was AUD 1.144 billion and prior to the Games, accountants at KPMG were estimating that the gross income generated by this event could be as high as AUD 1.5 billion.
Melbourne's premier sporting ground, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), was redeveloped in preparation for the Games. An athlete's village in the inner suburb of Parkville housed approximately 7,000 athletes and support staff during the Games, and has been transformed into commercial housing with a distinctly eco-friendly image. The creation of this village attracted controversy, with critics claiming it was created by alienating public parkland, while proponents maintained that it represented the renewal of an otherwise derelict inner-city area. [18]
The change from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time in Australian states that follow it was delayed from 26 March to 2 April for 2006 to avoid affecting the games. In addition, state and private schools amended their usual term times so as to allow the first term holidays to coincide with the Games. [19]
Melbourne's public transport system – train, tram and bus – ran to altered timetables with some amended or substituted services for the duration of the Games. For the most part, timetabled services were unchanged but suffered due to higher loads. [20]
For the first time ever, the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games appointed a Goodwill Partner, Plan International Australia. [21]
There were 71 countries, territories and bodies competing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. [22] The only difference between the 2006 games and the 2002 games was the absence of Zimbabwe, which withdrew from the Commonwealth of Nations.
OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Gold medal events | CC | Closing ceremony |
March | 15th Wed | 16th Thu | 17th Fri | 18th Sat | 19th Sun | 20th Mon | 21st Tue | 22nd Wed | 23rd Thu | 24th Fri | 25th Sat | 26th Sun | Events | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ceremonies | OC | CC | ||||||||||||
Athletics | 3 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 53 | ||||||
Badminton | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 5 | 6 | ||
Basketball | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
Boxing | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 11 | 11 | |||||
Cycling | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 18 | ||||||
Diving | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | |||||||||
Gymnastics | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 24 | |||||
Field hockey | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | ||||
Netball | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | |||
Rugby sevens | ● | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
Shooting | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 40 | ||||
Squash | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | ● | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 5 | |||
Swimming | 5 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 42 | |||||||
Synchronised swimming | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||
Table tennis | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
Weightlifting | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | ||||
Daily medal Events | 11 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 29 | 17 | 245 | ||
Cumulative total | 11 | 29 | 49 | 70 | 109 | 135 | 152 | 171 | 190 | 219 | 245 | |||
March | 15th Wed | 16th Thu | 17th Fri | 18th Sat | 19th Sun | 20th Mon | 21st Tue | 22nd Wed | 23rd Thu | 24th Fri | 25th Sat | 26th Sun | Events |
The 2006 Commonwealth Games included 17 sports, with 12 individual sports and 4 team sports. In total there are 245 events at the Games.
The athletics, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting sports included fully integrated events for elite athletes with a disability (EAD). These events were included in the official medal tally.
Both the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Yarra River were centrepieces for the ceremony, which included many fireworks, and other spectacle. The Games were opened by Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is also Head of State of a number of Commonwealth countries. [23]
Both the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Yarra River were again centrepieces for the ceremony. Samresh Jung of India was given the David Dixon Award at the closing ceremony. He was the "Best Athlete of the 18th Commonwealth Games". The games were closed by The Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward.
* Host nation (Australia)
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Australia* | 84 | 69 | 69 | 222 |
2 | England | 36 | 40 | 34 | 110 |
3 | Canada | 26 | 29 | 31 | 86 |
4 | India | 22 | 17 | 11 | 50 |
5 | South Africa | 12 | 13 | 13 | 38 |
6 | Scotland | 11 | 7 | 11 | 29 |
7 | Jamaica | 10 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
8 | Malaysia | 7 | 12 | 10 | 29 |
9 | New Zealand | 6 | 12 | 14 | 32 |
10 | Kenya | 6 | 5 | 7 | 18 |
Totals (10 entries) | 220 | 208 | 208 | 636 |
The logo of the 2006 Commonwealth Games is an image of 2 figures, which represents sport and culture, achievement and excellence, while the colours green, yellow, and red represents celebratory, fresh and youthfully optimistic character of Melbourne city. The two figures in the logo joined to form a letter M, which is the initial letter of Melbourne, the games host city. [32]
Karak was the mascot for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He was modelled on a red-tailed black cockatoo, a threatened species within the host country, Australia. [33] [34]
Sponsors of the 2006 Commonwealth Games [35] |
---|
Official partnersOfficial sponsorsOfficial providers
|
On 20 March 2006 it was reported that two athletes had gone missing from the Commonwealth Games village: Tanzanian boxer Omari Idd Kimweri and Bangladeshi runner Mohammad Tawhidul Islam. [36] [37]
On 22 March 2006 it was reported that seven athletes from Sierra Leone (three women and four men) had also disappeared. A further seven Sierra Leonean athletes also went missing during the course of the Games, bringing the total runaway count to fourteen (two-thirds of the team). Victoria Police believed that they had fled to Sydney where the Sierra Leonean community is much larger than Melbourne's.
Two hours before the Closing Ceremony on 26 March, officials from the Cameroon team reported to police that nine of their members had also vanished.
These incidents were not without precedent: 27 athletes similarly disappeared from the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England (21 from Sierra Leone, 5 from Bangladesh and one from Pakistan), and over 80 athletes and officials overstayed their visas after the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. [38]
On request of Sierra Leone officials, the Commonwealth Games Federation cancelled those athletes' Games accreditation, allowing the Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) to cancel their visas at midnight on 27 March, and begin investigating their disappearance. At 7.20 am on that day, New South Wales Police located six of the Sierra Leonean athletes in a house at Freshwater near Manly Beach in Sydney. All six indicated they wished to seek political asylum in Australia, and were granted bridging visas by DIMA while their refugee applications were arranged. The athletes claimed to have been subjected to violence and torture in their home country; seventeen-year-old Isha Conteh stated she could be forced into female genital cutting if she returned. [39] On Tuesday 28 March, six further Sierra Leoneans turned themselves in to immigration authorities in Sydney and were also granted bridging visas. [40]
Two of the missing Cameroonian athletes were later found in Perth, Western Australia.
The Stolenwealth Games were protests at the 1982 and 2006 Commonwealth Games. People were protesting because they believed that the Commonwealth Games led to the erasure of indigenous people. [41] [42] There were also problems with land rights. These protests led to the creation of the Global Indigenous Games.
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which mostly consists of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has successively run every four years since. The event was called the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. Athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams since 2002, making the Commonwealth Games the first fully inclusive international multi-sport event. In 2018, the Games became the first global multi-sport event to feature an equal number of men's and women's medal events, and four years later they became the first global multi-sport event to have more events for women than men.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, was an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The event was to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth, and Manchester was selected for the 2002 Games ahead of London using a recycled part of the project, which lost the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics to Sydney, Australia. The 2002 Commonwealth Games was, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing the London 1948 Summer Olympics in terms of teams and athletes participating. The 2002 Commonwealth Games had the largest number of events of any Commonwealth Games in history, featuring 281 events across 17 sports.
The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary. Venues included the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Sydney Sports Ground, North Sydney Olympic Pool and Henson Park. An estimated 40,000 people attended the opening ceremony. A competitors' residential village was established within the grounds of the Sydney Showground.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 4352 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games to date. It was also the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhi and India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event.
The 1998 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games, was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedented facts in the history of the event. The 1998 games were the first held in an Asian country and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th century. This was also the first time the games took place in a nation with a head of state other than the Head of the Commonwealth, and the first time the games were held in a country whose majority of the population did not have English as the first language. For the first time ever, the games included team sports. The other bid from the 1998 games came from Adelaide in Australia. Malaysia was the eighth nation to host the Commonwealth Games after Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Wales, Jamaica and Scotland. Around 3638 athletes from 70 Commonwealth member nations participated at the games which featured 214 events in 15 sports with 34 of them collected medals.
The shooting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games was held at various venues around Melbourne; the clay target shooting was held at the Melbourne Gun Club, in Lilydale.
The Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games was held on 15 March 2006 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ceremony was conceived and produced by Jack Morton Worldwide
The Men's 1500m freestyle event took place on 21 March 2006 at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia. The event was won by 21 year old Dave Davies of Wales in a time of 14:57.63. In doing so, Davies became the first Welsh swimming champion in 32 years. Andrew Hurd from Canada placed second with a time of 15:09.44, while South Africa's Hercules Prinsloo placed third with a time of 15:11.88.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018. It was the fifth time Australia had hosted the Commonwealth Games and the first time a major multi-sport had an equal number of events for male and female athletes.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England between 28 July and 8 August 2022. It was the third and seventh time England and the United Kingdom hosted the Commonwealth Games, respectively.
The men's 1 metre springboard was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 22 March 2006 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The women's 1 metre springboard was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 24 March 2006 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The men's 3 metre springboard was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 23 March 2006 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The men's 10 metre platform was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 22 March 2006 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The women's 10 metre platform was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 22 March 2006 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The men's synchronized 3 metre springboard was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 24 March 2006 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The women's synchronized 3 metre springboard was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 22 March 2006 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The men's synchronized 10 metre platform was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 24 March 2006 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The women's synchronized 10 metre platform was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 22 March 2006 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
The Victoria bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games was a bid by Victoria, Australia to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The bid was accepted by the Commonwealth Games Federation in August 2022 but was subsequently cancelled in July 2023 by the Victoria State Government.
Preceded by Manchester | Commonwealth Games Melbourne XVIII Commonwealth Games | Succeeded by Delhi |