Fitness & Health, Sport & Exercise Science

Commonwealth Games arrive in Glasgow

MascotGlasgow’s moment has arrived after seven years of waiting as the Commonwealth Games will officially get under way following tonight’s opening ceremony.

The Commonwealth Games is a unique, world class event which is held once every four years and is often referred to as the ‘Friendly Games’ and is the third largest multi-sport event after the Olympics and the Asian Games.

More than 4,500 athletes will compete in 17 events in the next 11 days.

From athletics at Hampden Park to rugby at Ibrox, from the triathlon in Strathclyde to the swimming at Tollcross, the hopes of 71 nations and territories will play out on the track, across the streets and in the water of a city with a rich sporting history.

The first Commonwealth Games took place in Hamilton, Canada in 1930 when four hundred athletes from eleven countries competed for 6 sports and just 59 events.

By comparison, this year’s event will see a total of 18 sports and 261 medal events being contested, including the largest ever number of integrated medal events for Para-Sports.

Among new disciplines in the programme for the first time are mountain biking, the triathlon mixed relay event, more shooting medal chances for women and women’s boxing.

Why not take 30 seconds to dash through the 13 quick questions in the BBC’s sports quiz to see which events from the Commonwealth Games could match your physical and mental abilities.