The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event which has almost ninety member countries. This event is held after every four years hosted by one of the member countries while it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth Games at this particular time period has almost 5,000 sportspersons that compete in the sports which are almost twenty. As well as many Olympic sports, the Games also include some sports that are played mainly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls, rugby sevens and netball. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is the organization responsible for the direction and controls of the Commonwealth Games. The first such event, then known as the British Empire Games, was held in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The name changed to British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, to British Commonwealth Games in 1970 and assumed the current name of the Commonwealth Games in 1974.
There are currently fifty-three members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and seventy-one teams participating in the Games. The four constituent countries of the United Kingdom which are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, and individual teams are also sent from the British Crown dependencies which are Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man and many of the British overseas territories. The Australian external territory of Norfolk Island also sends its own team, as do the Cook Islands and Niue, two non-sovereign states in free association with New Zealand. Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games at the hosting countries which are Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales.
After the Commonwealth Games at Melbourne, Australia in 2006 where 71 nations and almost 4,500 athletes participated. The next hosting city for the Commonwealth games will be Delhi, India. The Games would start from October 3 to October 14 2011. Delhi with a population of over 15 million, it is considered to be one of the world’s largest cities in the world. On November 13, 2003, the Commonwealth Games Federation voted for the hosting cities for the 2011 Games. The votes showed that Delhi received 46 votes while Ontario, Hamilton and Canada received 22. The Commonwealth Games at Delhi will be the biggest multi-sport event conducted to date in Delhi, which has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. In January 2005, the Commonwealth Games Federation vice-president Randhir Singh said that Delhi was behind schedule in forming an organizing committee. He said "This inordinate delay by the Sports Ministry could cost India the games.” India will be only the third developing country to host the event after Jamaica (1966) and Malaysia (1998). This is only the second time the event has been held in Asia after 1998.
The Commonwealth Games at India in 2011 are being looked forward to with excitement and thrill as the game would not only include the competition but the Indians are planning to share a little bit of their culture in the games giving a warm welcome to the audiences of the Commonwealth Games a Delhi.