2014 Commonwealth Games facts for kids

The 2014 Commonwealth Games were a huge sports event held in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the biggest multi-sport event Scotland had ever hosted! Before this, Scotland had also hosted the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1970 and 1986. Glasgow and Scotland had lots of experience, having hosted major events for all 17 sports planned for the 2014 Games, like the World Badminton Championships in 1997.

How Glasgow Was Chosen

Scotland was the first country to think about hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games back in 2004. Cities across Scotland were asked if they wanted to bid. In September 2004, Glasgow was chosen as Scotland's candidate city. It was picked over Edinburgh, which had hosted the Games twice before.

The Scottish government, led by Jack McConnell at the time, officially announced Glasgow's plan to host the Games on August 16, 2005. The UK government also supported this idea.

The Bidding Race

The official bidding process started in March 2006. Glasgow's team presented their plan to the Commonwealth Games Federation. Other cities also wanting to host were Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, and Halifax in Canada.

In October 2006, people who would vote on the host city visited Glasgow. They checked out the city's sports venues and other facilities. On January 16, 2007, Glasgow announced the 17 sports it would include if it won the bid. Halifax later dropped out of the race in March 2007 because it lost its funding. This left Glasgow and Abuja as the final two cities.

Sports and Schedule

The 2014 Commonwealth Games featured many exciting sports. Here's a look at the schedule and how many medal events each sport had:

July/August		23rd Wed	24th Thu	25th Fri	26th Sat	27th Sun	28th Mon	29th Tue	30th Wed	31st Thu	1st Fri	2nd Sat	3rd Sun	Events
Ceremonies		OC											CC
Athletics								1	6	9	8	6	14	44
Badminton			●	●	●	●	1	●	●	●	●	3	2	6
Boxing				●	●	●	●	●	●	●		11		11
Cycling			3	3	3	4	2				2	2		19
Diving									3	2	3	2		10
Gymnastics			1	1	2		4	6	1	1	4			20
Field hockey			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	2	2
Judo			4	5	5									14
Lawn bowls			●	●	●	●	3	●	2	1	2			8
Netball			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1
Rugby sevens					●	1								1
Shooting				●	1		2	4	5	6	2			20
Squash			●	●	●	●	2	●	●	●	●	1	1	4
Swimming			4	5	8	5	11	7						40
Table tennis			●	●	●	●	2	●	●	●	1	2	3	8
Triathlon			2											2
Weightlifting			2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1				15
Wrestling														21
Total Events														246
Cumulative total
July/August		23rd Wed	24th Thu	25th Fri	26th Sat	27th Sun	28th Mon	29th Tue	30th Wed	31st Thu	1st Fri	2nd Sat	3rd Sun	Events

Images for kids

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  Glasgow was selected by the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland as the main Scottish candidate city for the 2014 Commonwealth Games

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

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  Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome hosted the Badminton and Track Cycling events

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  The Clyde Auditorium hosted Weightlifting and SSE Hydro hosted Gymnastics and Netball events

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  Royal Commonwealth Pool hosted Diving events

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  The 2014 Commonwealth Games athlete's village at Dalmarnock, Glasgow

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  Launch of the countdown clock of the Games.

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  Launch of the tickets to Glasgow 2014 going on sale

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  Queen's Baton Relay in Thurso, Scotland

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  Queen's Baton

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  Ford Kuga at the rear of the Queen's Baton Relay, in Olrig Street in Thurso

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  Nations that competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

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  Athletics at the Hampden Park

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  Badminton was held at the Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome

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  Glasgow 2014 flower bed in the grounds of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, promoting Glasgow's bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

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  Mascot sculpture in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens

See also

In Spanish: Juegos de la Mancomunidad de 2014 para niños