10-04-2010, 02:30 PM
NEW DELHI: Plagued by charges of corruption, security fears and shambolic organisation, the 19th Commonwealth Games threw off the shackles of its chaotic lead-up on Sunday to stage a spectacular opening ceremony. Watched by a crowd of almost 60,000 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, with a worldwide television audience of more than a billion, the launch was billed as bringing “India alive” for the 11-day sporting showpiece. Britain’s Prince Charles declared the games open after receiving a relay baton that had travelled some 170,000 kilometres to all the Commonwealth nations, most of them former British colonies, before arriving in India. “I have much pleasure in declaring the 19th Commonwealth Games open,” the prince said after thousands of the games’ 7,000 participating athletes had paraded around the ground.
The tightly-drilled spectacle marked a stark contrast to the build-up, when the Indian capital suffered weeks of disastrous headlines. Teams arrived to find the athletes’ village unfinished and filthy, a new footbridge next to the main stadium collapsed injuring dozens of workers, and concerns about health, security and transport have also been high.
The tightly-drilled spectacle marked a stark contrast to the build-up, when the Indian capital suffered weeks of disastrous headlines. Teams arrived to find the athletes’ village unfinished and filthy, a new footbridge next to the main stadium collapsed injuring dozens of workers, and concerns about health, security and transport have also been high.