The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were 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.
The 1998 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games, were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th century. 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 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.
Kangaroos, Wallabies and other Macropodidae have become emblems and symbols of Australia, as well as appearing in popular culture both internationally and within Australia itself.
Tegwen Malik is a professional squash player who represented Wales. At 17, she was the youngest ever winner of the Welsh Senior Closed. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 16 in January 2000. She often competed in the top men's leagues in Wales and as the number one player in the Professional Bundelsleague in Germany. She was a well-respected player on the professional tour and was often admired for her athletic abilities on the court.
Onalenna Oabona Baloyi is a Botswana middle distance runner, who specialized in the 800 metres.
Clyde was the official mascot of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Clyde is an anthropomorphic thistle and is named after the River Clyde which flows through the centre of Glasgow. The mascot was designed by Beth Gilmour from Cumbernauld, who won a competition run by Glasgow 2014 for children to design the Mascot. Beth's drawing was then brought to life by digital agency Nerv, who turned it into a commercial character, created a full backstory, gave it a name – Clyde – and created a website for him. Clyde was finally revealed in a seven-minute animated film created by Nerv at a ceremony at BBC Scotland's headquarters in Glasgow. The organiser, Glasgow 2014, said the mascot's design was chosen, because of its "Scottish symbolism and Glaswegian charm and likeability".
Borobi was the official mascot of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Borobi is a male koala with blue fur and unusual markings on his paws. The name Borobi is derived from a dialect used by the Yugambeh people, an indigenous Australian group from the Gold Coast region. The mascot, along with its fictional back story, was revealed in April 2016. Borobi is based on a character submitted by Merrilyn Krohn, the winner of the GC2018 Mascot Design Competition.
The closing ceremony for the 2018 Commonwealth Games was held on 15 April 2018 in the Carrara stadium, Gold Coast. The worldwide broadcast began at 20:30 and finished at 22:30 AEST, lasting almost two hours. The athletes entered the stadium before the broadcast began, a decision which attracted criticism. In reality, this early entrance was not without recent precedent and in reality, a 10-minute 'salute to the athletes of the Commonwealth' had been planned and rehearsed with the athletes and crowd in the stadium before the broadcast began - intended as a surprise to the broadcast audience. However, due to a very low turnout of athletes on the night, the sequence, which was to feature Usain Bolt DJ ing as the cast and athletes danced for the crowd had to be curtailed. Channel 7 was particularly virulent in its criticism..
Matilda was the mascot of the 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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 women's 3 metre springboard was part of the Diving at the 2006 Commonwealth Games program. The competition was held on 25 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.
