Get ready for the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Planning for a holiday but don’t know where to go then why not head off to Glasgow where the 2014 Commonwealth Games is going to take place. Make best use of your vacation by combining both sports and sightseeing together.

An international, multi-sport event that involves athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations participating in various sporting events, the Commonwealth Games first held in 1930 at Hamilton, Canada is all set to weave its magic once again at Glasgow next year. Held after every 4 years, the Commonwealth Games come third in the line of the biggest multi-sport event in the world just after the Olympic Games and the Asian Games.

The games have grown over a period of time and now have over around 4000+ athletes from 71 countries participating in various events from the initial 400 athletes who participated way back in the 1930’s. What makes the CWG different from other games is that it incorporates several sports like lawn bowls, rugby sevens and netball which are played only in the Commonwealth countries. As of now there are about 31 approved sports, two multi-disciplinary sports, and 7 para-sports recognised by the CWG Federation but not only sports are competed. Most of the sports under the CWG are divided into 3 categories:

• Core Sports - Includes all the 10 core sports like athletics, hockey, and weightlifting
• Optional Sports -Host nation has the discretion to include upto 7 optional sports from the approved list. Example-Archery was included as an optional sport in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India.
• Recognised Sports- are sports which have been approved by the CGF but are deemed to need further growth before they are included in the CWG. Example- Cricket, Golf, Football.

Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games

The 2014 Commonwealth Games plans to carry on with the success of the London Olympics. Now in its 20th year, the 2014 Commonwealth Games is all set to take place in Glasgow next year. To be played over a period of 11 days from 23 July to 3 August 2014, around 4,500 athletes will contest for 261 medals in 17 sports with both mountain biking and triathlon being reintroduced again. Several new disciplines liked mixed relay event, women's boxing and shooting (women) are also been introduced while around 22 para-sport events will be contested in sports like athletics, cycling, lawn bowls, swimming and weightlifting with para track cycling being held for the first time. So if you want to catch some of this action, best is that you start preparation of booking some of those fancy holiday rental located near to the stadiums.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games plans to carry on with the success of the London Olympics. Now in its 20th year, the 2014 Commonwealth Games is all set to take place in Glasgow next year. To be played over a period of 11 days from 23 July to 3 August 2014, around 4,500 athletes will contest for 261 medals in 17 sports with both mountain biking and triathlon being reintroduced again. Several new disciplines liked mixed relay event, women's boxing and shooting (women) are also been introduced while around 22 para-sport events will be contested in sports like athletics, cycling, lawn bowls, swimming and weightlifting with para track cycling being held for the first time. So if you want to catch some of this action, best is that you start preparation of booking some of those fancy holiday rental located near to the stadiums.

Venues of the Games: The 2014 CWG games will be held in 14 venues spread across Glasgow and beyond - Edinburgh, Angus and Lanarkshire. To know more about the Common Wealth Games venue visit official website (www.glasgow2014.com/games/venues)

At Glasgow

1. Celtic Park for the opening ceremony.
2. Hampden Stadium in Glasgow - for the track and field events.
3. Emirates arena -for badminton.
4. Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome -for cycling.
5. The New Hydro arena at the SECC will host gymnastics, boxing, judo, wrestling, weightlifting and netball.
6. Scotstoun Country Park -Squash and table tennis
7. Tollcross International Swimming Center- for swimming
8. Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls Center- for lawn bowls
9. Ibrox stadium –for rugby sevens
10. Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails- for Mountain Bike competitions
11. Glasgow Green Hockey Centre- For Hockey

Outside Glasgow

12. Royal Commonwealth Pool, Edinburgh- Diving
13. The Barry Buddon Centre, Angus- for shooting
14. Strathclyde Country Park in Lanarkshire – for the triathlon

Glasgow is a small and compact city and getting around the city is comparatively easy, thanks to its subway which operates seven days a week with a train every 6-8 minutes. Buses, taxis and trains are the other options. Even Edinburgh is not very far off; one can easily reach there within 40-50 minutes by taking a cab or a train. And, if you are coming from any other part of the UK to attend the games, don’t worry; there are around 20 direct trains from London with the average journey time hovering from 3-4 hours. Alternately you can also seek out a fully furnished holiday apartment near to any of the stadiums given below so that you can easily walk down to the venues.

Tickets for the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Tickets for the commonwealth games are yet to go on sale and are most likely to be available from summer 2013. To know how and where to buy, do visit the official website (www.glasgow2014.com) for more details.

Check the route details given below to know on which dates the baton will pass through a country so that you can rent out a holiday apartment you should wish to catch the action.

Country	Date
India	11-Oct-13
Bangladesh	14-Octs
Pakistan	16-Oct
Sri Lanka	19-Oct
Maldives	21-Oct
Singapore	23-Oct
Malaysia	26-Oct
Brunei Darussalam	28-Oct
Australia	31-Oct
Papua New Guinea	4-Nov
Solomon Islands	8-Nov
Nauru	13-Nov
Tuvalu	19-Nov
Samoa	23-Nov
New Zealand	27-Nov
Kiribati	2-Dec
Cook Islands	5-Dec
Tonga	9-Dec
Niue	13-Dec
Norfolk Island	22-Dec
Vanuatu	25-Dec
The Gambia	30-Dec
Sierra Leone	1-Jan-14
Ghana	3-Jan
Nigeria	5-Jan
Cameroon	8-Jan
Kenya	11-Jan
Uganda	14-Jan
Rwanda	15-Jan
United Republic of Tanzania	18-Jan
Seychelles	21-Jan
Malawi	24-Jan
Zambia	26-Jan
Namibia	28-Jan
Botswana	30-Jan
Mauritius	1-Feb
Mozambique	4-Feb
Swaziland	6-Feb
Lesotho	8-Feb
South Africa	10-Feb
St Helena	19-Feb
Falkland Islands	27-Feb
Guyana	2-Mar
Trinidad & Tobago	5-Mar
Grenada	7-Mar
Barbados	10-Mar
St Vincent & The Grenadines	14-Mar
St Lucia	16-Mar
Dominica	19-Mar
Antigua & Barbuda	21-Mar
Montserrat	25-Mar
St Kitts & Nevis	27-Mar
Anguilla	30-Mar
British Virgin Islands	2-Apr
Jamaica	5-Apr
Cayman Islands	11-Apr
Turks & Caicos	15-Apr
The Bahamas	18-Apr
Belize	21-Apr
Bermuda	24-Apr
Canada	26-Apr
Cyprus	4-May
Malta	7-May
Gibraltar	9-May
Jersey	11-May
Guernsey	13-May
Isle of Man	16-May
Northern Ireland	20-May
Wales	24-May
England	31-May
Scotland	14-Jun

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• 2014 Commonwealth Games
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