2014 Commonwealth Games

The 2014 Commonwealth Games (officially the XX Commonwealth Games) were held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 3 August 2014.

It was the largest multi-sport event ever held in Scotland with around 4,950 athletes from 71 different nations and territories competing in 18 different sports, outranking the 1970 and 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. Over the last 10 years, however, Glasgow and Scotland had staged World, Commonwealth, European, or British events in all sports proposed for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, including the World Badminton Championships in 1997.^[2]

The Games received acclaim for their organisation, attendance, and the public enthusiasm of the people of Scotland, with Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper hailing them as "the standout games in the history of the movement".^[3][4] Held in Scotland for the third time, the Games were notable for the successes of the Home Nations of the United Kingdom, with England, Wales and hosts Scotland achieving their largest ever gold medal hauls and overall medal hauls at a Commonwealth Games.^[5][6] England finished top of the medal table for the first time since the 1986 Commonwealth Games, also held in Scotland. Kiribati also won its first ever medal at a Commonwealth Games, a gold in the 105 kg men's weightlifting competition.^[7]

Selection process

Special liveries in support of Glasgow's bid were applied to numerous subway carriages.

Scotland was the first country to consider hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games in 2004, with Scottish cities being invited by the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland to consider making a bid. In September 2004, Glasgow was announced as the Scottish candidate city over Edinburgh (which hosted the Games in 1970 and 1986, and the inaugural Commonwealth Youth Games in 2000) following a cost-benefit analysis by the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland. The Scottish Executive under then First Minister of Scotland, Jack McConnell, with the support of the United Kingdom government and all main parties in the Scottish Parliament, formally announced Glasgow's intention to host the games on 16 August 2005.^[8][9]

In March 2006, the bidding process began, with the Glasgow Bidding team presenting their case to the Commonwealth Games Federation at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, along with the other confirmed candidate cities; the Nigerian capital, Abuja and Halifax in Canada.^[10] In October 2006, the first voting delegates arrived in Glasgow, to inspect the city's existing and proposed amenities and facilities. Glasgow announced on 16 January 2007, the 17 sports to be included should its bid be successful.^[11] Halifax later withdrew its bid on 8 March 2007, following the withdrawal of funding from the municipal government.^[12]

Glasgow city centre.

That left Abuja and Glasgow as the remaining bidders, with Abuja seen as a likely favourite due to the basis of its campaign that an African nation has never before hosted the Commonwealth Games.^[13] The deadline for formal submission of bids to the Commonwealth Games Federation, in the form of a Candidate City File, was set for May 2007.^[14] Both bids were highly recommended, though Glasgow's bid team had made use of extensive benchmarking against the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and as a result, its bid was deemed technically superior according to the CGF Evaluation Report that was released in September 2007. The Commonwealth Games Evaluation Commission concluded that: "Glasgow has shown it has the ability to stage the 2014 Commonwealth Games to a standard which would continue to enhance the image and prestige of the Games." This put Glasgow ahead in terms of the technical comprehensiveness of its bid.^[15]

The final decision on the host city of the 2014 Commonwealth Games was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 9 November 2007 at the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly, attended by all 71 Commonwealth Games member associations. Each bid city made a presentation to the General Assembly, the order of which was determined by drawing lots. Glasgow's delegation was led by Louise Martin, chair of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland, First Minister Alex Salmond, athlete Jamie Quarry and Leader of Glasgow City Council Steven Purcell. The presentation also included a promotional film narrated by Sean Connery.^[16] Abuja's delegation was led by General Yakubu Gowon, head of the Abuja 2014 Commonwealth Games bid team.

The CGF members later voted for their preferred candidate in a secret ballot. As there were only two bids, the winner was announced by the CGF President, Mike Fennel, after the first round of voting, with the winner only requiring a simple majority. The results of the bidding process were as follows:

2014 Commonwealth Games bidding results
City	Country	Votes
Glasgow	Scotland	47
Abuja	Nigeria	24

Participating nations

There were 71 participating nations at the 2014 Commonwealth Games with approximately 4,950 competing athletes, making it one of the largest Commonwealth Games staged to date. On 7 October 2013, The Gambia, having withdrawn from the Commonwealth five days earlier, confirmed that it would not be taking part in the games.^[17]

In this table the number of athletes sent is shown in parenthesis.

Nations that competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

Calendar

The following table shows a summary of the competition schedule.^[91]

All times are in BST (UTC+1)

OC

Opening ceremony

●

Event competitions

1

Event finals

CC

Closing ceremony

July/August		23 Wed	24 Thu	25 Fri	26 Sat	27 Sun	28 Mon	29 Tue	30 Wed	31 Thu	1 Fri	2 Sat	3 Sun	Events
Ceremonies		OC											CC
Athletics						4	7	7	7	9	7	9		50
Badminton			●	●	●	●	1	●	●	●	●	●	5	6
Boxing				●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	13		11
Cycling			4	4	5	4		2		2			2	23
Diving									3	2	3	2		10
Gymnastics			1	1	4		●	2	2	5	5			20
Hockey			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Judo			5	4	5									14
Lawn bowls			●	●	1	2	2	●	●	2	3			10
Netball			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1
Rugby sevens					●	1								1
Shooting				3	5	2	4	5						19
Squash			●	●	●	●	2	●	●	●	●	1	2	5
Swimming			6	8	7	7	8	8						44
Table tennis			●	●	●	1	1	●	●	●	2	3		7
Triathlon			2		1									3
Weightlifting			2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1		4		19
Wrestling								5	5	4				14
Total events			20	22	30	23	27	31	19	25	20	33	11	261
Cumulative total			20	42	72	95	122	153	172	197	217	250	261
July/August		23 Wed	24 Thu	25 Fri	26 Sat	27 Sun	28 Mon	29 Tue	30 Wed	31 Thu	1 Fri	2 Sat	3 Sun	Events

Sports

A total of 18 sports and 261 medal events were contested at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.^[92] A record 22 para-sport events were contested in five different sports (athletics, cycling, lawn bowls, swimming and weightlifting) and para track cycling was held for the very first time.^[93] Archery and tennis from the 2010 games were replaced on the sports programme with triathlon (for the first time since 2006)^[94] and judo (first time since 2002). Among sport disciplines removed from 2010 include the walking events in athletics, synchronised swimming and Greco-Roman wrestling, while mountain biking was contested for the first time since 2006. Shooting medal events also dropped from 44 in 2010 to 19. Among new disciplines on the Commonwealth Games programme for the first time were the triathlon mixed relay event, more shooting medal chances for women and the addition of women's boxing to the programme.^[95][96]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each sport.

Medal table

Only the top ten successful nations are displayed here.

The ranking in this table is consistent with International Olympic Committee convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a "nation" is an entity represented by a Commonwealth Games Association). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by their three letter country code.^[97][98]

Two bronze medals were awarded in boxing, judo and wrestling, except for Women's freestyle 75 kg as only five competitors were entered in the event. Additionally, two bronze medals were awarded in the men's 100 m backstroke and women's pole vault as a result of a tie between two athletes. No bronze medal was awarded in the men's synchronized 10 metre platform as only four teams competed in the event. Therefore, the total number of bronze medals is greater than the total number of gold or silver medals.

Key

  *   Host nation (Scotland)

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	England (ENG)	58	59	57	174
2	Australia (AUS)	49	42	46	137
3	Canada (CAN)	32	16	34	82
4	Scotland (SCO)*	19	15	19	53
5	India (IND)	15	30	19	64
6	New Zealand (NZL)	14	14	17	45
7	South Africa (RSA)	13	10	17	40
8	Nigeria (NGR)	11	11	14	36
9	Kenya (KEN)	10	10	5	25
10	Jamaica (JAM)	10	4	8	22
Total		261	261	302	824

Games identity

Bid and interim logo

Interim and bid logo.

The interim logo for the Games was first used during Glasgow's bid, with the "Candidate City" section removed following 9 November 2007, when the bid was approved. The logo depicts two sprinters woven into a tartan motif, representing Scotland. The logo also vaguely resembles the Clyde Auditorium, one of Glasgow's most recognisable landmarks. The pattern, forming the Roman numerals XX, also represents 20th edition of the Commonwealth Games. The text is more specifically Glaswegian, with its stylised Mackintosh font. A flag featuring the logo was used extensively during the bid process. The flag was flown above Merchant House in George Square daily.^[99]

The Games brand identity

The full Games brand identity was developed by Glasgow design studio Tangent Graphic, the lead creative agency between 2010 and 2014. Tangent's first major project was the official sport Pictograms, launched on 23 July 2011, and they continued to deliver and influence every aspect of the Glasgow 2014 identity. Tangent inherited the official logo which was designed by Marque Creative. The logo was unveiled on Commonwealth Day, 8 March 2010.^[100] It was inspired by three factors, time, data and measurement. Its rings are proportioned to represent the 20th Commonwealth Games, across 17 sports, over 11 days in 1 city. An animated version of the logo has also been produced.^[101]

There is also a version of the logo in Scottish Gaelic. Arthur Cormack, the Chair of Bòrd na Gàidhlig, made the following official statement:

"Bòrd na Gàidhlig welcomes the Gaelic version of the logo for the Glaschu 2014 Commonwealth Games and we have been happy to work with the Glaschu 2014 team in helping them develop their identity. Given the unique importance of Gaelic to Scotland and the many Scots in the diaspora throughout the Commonwealth, we believe it should be seen, heard and spoken as widely as possible."

"Given the worldwide interest there will be in the Games when they take place in Glasgow, a city with a large number of Gaelic speakers, we believe they offer an exciting opportunity for Gaelic to be seen and, we hope, heard and appreciated in an international setting. We hope this is just the start; we wish the Games well and look forward to working further with Glaschu 2014 to enhance the status of Gaelic within this hugely significant event."^[102]

The official website was built in phases, delivered by Dog Digital and Blonde.

Mascot

Mascot sculpture in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Clyde, an anthropomorphic thistle named after the river which flows through the centre of Glasgow, was the official mascot of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The mascot was designed by Beth Gilmour, 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".^[103]

By the final day of the Games, over 50,000 Clyde mascot cuddly toys had been sold.^[104]

Drug testing and doping

Nigeria's Chika Amalaha failed a doping test and was stripped of a gold medal in the women's 53 kg weightlifting.^[105] In the women's 400 metres final, Botswana's Amantle Montsho placed fourth; she was subsequently provisionally suspended pending the results of a B sample after failing a doping test.^[106] Montsho's B sample was reported as positive on 14 August 2014.^[107]

See also

• Glasgow bid for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

• Official website
• Glasgow 2014 Candidate City File
• CWG 2014 Schedule
• 2014 Commonwealth Games Evaluation Report
• Commonwealth Games information – Clyde Waterfront
• SECC National Arena – Clyde Waterfront project details
• Clyde Mascot Website
• Commonwealth Games 2014 Medal Tally
• Mascot's website