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Commonwealth Games building goes to wire


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Commonwealth Games building goes to wire

By Harmeet Singh, CNN

September 12, 2010 -- Updated 2324 GMT (0724 HKT)

New Delhi, India (CNN) -- India's capital is no stranger to cesspools of standing water, disease and punishing gridlock when rains happen.

Many New Delhi residents had hoped the billions of dollars the country was spending on hosting one of the world's biggest sporting events would rid the city of its chronic problems.

But some believe the city's woes are growing as it prepares for the Commonwealth Games, weeks before they are slated to kick off on October 3.

India is estimated to be spending more than $2 billion now, way above the initial projections made seven years ago when India won the bid. Officials said the increased spending covers training, security, broadcasting and telecommunication.

About 6,500 athletes from 71 teams -- mostly countries from the former British Empire - will travel to India for the games and will play in newly built or renovated stadia.

But today, ringed by heaps of bricks and concrete, workers are still laboring day and night at business centers, metro rail projects and near sporting venues... (continued)

Full article with photos: CNN: Commonwealth Games building goes to wire

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^

I don't remember Montreal.

I know the stadium tower was incomplete which was incredibly embarrassing, but did the venues otherwise function ok?

Not sure but of course the classic 'not ready in time' moment for Montreal was having to utilise a temporary cauldron platform...good thing the Queen's Baton doesn't get ignited or the Delhi organisers probably would have problems with that as well. <_<

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I think we'll see a Montreal-like run-up, where workers were laying the new turf on the day of the opening ceremony.

As I recall, the 1976 Games venues were ready on time, as was the Olympic Village. There was a lot of cosmetic clean-up at the end just before the opening. However, in India, there is a much bigger problem. The Games Village is simply not ready -- wiring and plumbing have to be connected, and the athletes are already arriving. There's a report in today's Toronto Star that the Commonwealth Games could in fact be canceled.

India has had 7 years to prepare. This is pathetic. Toronto Star article below...

Could next month’s Commonwealth Games be cancelled?

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There has never been any indication that the cauldron in Montreal was impacted by the incomplete tower. The flame was lit at the centre of the stadium and then moved to another cauldron at the side of the track. While we all would like to think it was meant to burn atop the tower because that would have been quite the visual, I've never found anything to suggest that in the works. Ceremonies prior to 1980 were simply not as fantastic.

Edited by Kendegra
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