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| 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 |
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| Part of a series on |
| 2006 Commonwealth Games |
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The2006 Commonwealth Games, officially theXVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known asMelbourne 2006, were aninternationalmulti-sport event for members of theCommonwealth held inMelbourne,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 the1956 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 theCommonwealth of Nations andCommonwealth Games Federation on 8 December 2003 and so did not participate in the event.[4] With 245 sets of medals, the games featured 17Commonwealth sports. These sporting events took place at 13 venues in the host city, two venues inBendigo and one venue each inBallarat,Geelong,Lysterfield Park andTraralgon.[5]
The site for the opening and closing ceremonies was theMelbourne Cricket Ground, which was also used during the 1956 Olympics.[6] Themascot for the games wasKarak, ared-tailed black cockatoo (athreatened species).[7] The official song of the games, "Together We Are One", was composed by theARIA awardee Australian recording artistDelta 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 theCommonwealth Games, the Queen's Baton visited every single Commonwealth nation and territory taking part in the Games, a journey of 180,000 kilometres (110,000 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 aboutA$1.6 billion over a 20-year period and employment of about 13,600 jobs.[12]
Having previously hosted the 1956 Olympics,Melbourne has hosted world sporting events such as the1979 World Fencing Championships. The city made a bid to host the1996 Summer Olympics, but was unsuccessful in its bid toAtlanta.[13] Following the failure of the Olympic bid, the city would later make plans to host the Commonwealth Games. During the1998 Commonwealth Games inKuala Lumpur,Malaysia, two cities initially expressed interest in hosting the event; Melbourne, Australia andWellington, New Zealand.[14]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.[15][16][17]
| 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]
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Early concerns arose about the large cost of staging the event, 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 leaderPeter Ryan said that the Labor government should win "gold (medal) for burning money".[18] 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 atKPMG were estimating that the gross income generated by this event could be as high as AUD 1.5 billion.
An athlete's village in the inner suburb ofParkville 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.[19]
The change fromDaylight 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.[20]
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.[21]
For the first time ever, the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games appointed a Goodwill Partner,Plan International Australia.[22]
Both theMelbourne Cricket Ground and theYarra River were centrepieces for the ceremony, which included many fireworks, and other spectacle. The Games were opened byElizabeth II, in her capacity asHead of the Commonwealth. The Queen is alsoHead of State of a number of Commonwealth countries.[23]
Both theMelbourne Cricket Ground and theYarra River were again centrepieces for the ceremony.Samresh Jung of India was given theDavid Dixon Award at the closing ceremony. He was the "Best Athlete of the 18th Commonwealth Games". The games were closed byThe Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward.
There were 71 countries, territories and bodies competing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.[24] The only difference is the roster between the 2006 games and the2002 games was the absence ofZimbabwe, which had withdrawn from theCommonwealth 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.
Aquatics (details)
Diving
Swimming
Synchronized swimming Athletics (details) Badminton (details) Basketball (details) Boxing (details) Cycling (details) Gymnastics (details) Field hockey (details)
Lawn bowls (details) Netball (details) Rugby sevens (details) Shooting (details) Squash (details) Table tennis (details)
Triathlon (details) Weightlifting (details)The athletics, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting sports included fully integrated events for eliteathletes with a disability (EAD). These events were included in the official medal tally.
* 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.[33]
Karak was the mascot for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He was modelled on ared-tailed black cockatoo, athreatened species within the host country, Australia.[34][35]
Sponsors of the 2006 Commonwealth Games[36] |
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Official partners[edit]Official sponsors[edit]Official providers[edit]
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On 20 March 2006 it was reported that two athletes had gone missing from the Commonwealth Games village:Tanzanian boxerOmari Idd Kimweri andBangladeshi runner Mohammad Tawhidul Islam.[37][38]
On 22 March 2006 it was reported that seven athletes fromSierra 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 theCameroon team reported to police that nine of their members had also vanished.
These incidents were not without precedent: 27 athletes similarly disappeared from the2002 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 the2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[39]
On request of Sierra Leone officials, the Commonwealth Games Federation cancelled those athletes' Games accreditation, allowing theAustralian 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 atFreshwater nearManly Beach in Sydney. All six indicated they wished to seekpolitical 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 intofemale genital cutting if she returned.[40] On Tuesday 28 March, six further Sierra Leoneans turned themselves in to immigration authorities in Sydney and were also granted bridging visas.[41]
Two of the missing Cameroonian athletes were later found inPerth, 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.[42][43] There were also problems with land rights. These protests led to the creation of the Global Indigenous Games.
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| Preceded by Manchester | Commonwealth Games Melbourne XVIII Commonwealth Games | Succeeded by Delhi |
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