The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 as the British Empire Games and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has successively run every four years since. The event was called the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and the British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. The event removed the word British from its title for the 1978 Games and has maintained its current name ever since.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August 2002. According to planning, this event was to be held in a country in the United Kingdom as part of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth. England was the only bidder for the event and, in an internal process, Manchester was selected for the 2002 Games ahead of London. The Manchester bid used projects which were part of the failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, which were awarded to Sydney, Australia. The 2002 Commonwealth Games was, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing the London 1948 Summer Olympics in terms of teams and athletes participating. The 2002 Commonwealth Games had the largest number of events of any Commonwealth Games in history, featuring 281 events across 17 sports.
The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53,600, making it the 7th-largest football stadium in England and 11th-largest in the United Kingdom.
Sarah Elizabeth Ulmer is a New Zealand former competitive cyclist. She is the first New Zealander to win an Olympic cycling gold medal, which she won in the 3km individual pursuit at the 2004 Athens Olympics setting a world record.
Manchester Velodrome is an indoor Olympic-standard cycle-racing track in Manchester, England, which opened in 1994. Part of the National Cycling Centre, the facility has been home to British Cycling since 1994, coinciding with the nation's rise to track cycling dominance at World and Olympic level. The velodrome was also home to UCI ProTeam Ineos Grenadiers, formerly known as Team Sky between 2010 and 2019, a period when the team won 6 Tour de France, 2 Vuelta a España and 1 Giro d'Italia with Great Britain riders.
The Manchester Aquatics Centre, abbreviated MAC, is a public aquatics sports facility south of the city centre of Manchester, England, north of the main buildings of the University of Manchester near Manchester Metropolitan University. It was purpose built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and cost £32 million to build.
Diane Dolores Modahl is an English former middle distance runner who specialised in the 800 metres. She won Gold in the 800 m title at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, Silver at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, and Bronze at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
Cultureshock was the Commonwealth Games cultural programme which ran alongside the Games themselves. The events ranged from images of the athlete as hero in sculpture and photography to a Zulu performance at The Lowry. There was an exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery called Tales of Power: West African Textiles, and a performance of the film Monsoon Wedding at Clwyd Theatr Cymru. The geographical range was from Cheshire in the south to Blackburn and Cumbria in the north, and included that year the various Melas that take place around the region.
The Commonwealth Water Polo Championships are held in conjunction with the Commonwealth Games, although they are no longer included in the Commonwealth Games programme. They are in a round robin format.
The second city of the United Kingdom is typically held to be either Birmingham or Manchester, between which the title is disputed. The title is unofficial and cultural and is often debated in the popular press between Birmingham, Manchester, and other candidates.
At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the athletics events were held at the City of Manchester Stadium on 26–30 July 2002. The route for the marathon event crossed Manchester city centre and finished in the stadium. The race walk events began alongside the Lowry Centre at Salford Quays. There were twenty-five men's events and 23 women's events; the schedules were identical except that there were men's 3000 metres steeplechase and 50 kilometres walk events. Pole vaulter Dominic Johnson won a bronze medal, Saint Lucia's only medal of the Games.
The boxing tournaments at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester took place from July 26 to August 3 at the Forum Centre, and the Manchester Evening News Arena.
Sportcity in Manchester is a multipurpose sports and leisure facility. Originally built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, it is in east Manchester, North West England, a mile from Manchester city centre, and was developed on former industrial land including the site of Bradford Colliery.
Judo at the 2002 Commonwealth Games was the third time that Judo at the Commonwealth Games was included as a sport. It had been held as a demonstration sport at the 1986 Commonwealth Games and made its official debut at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. The sport took place in the GMEX.
Leon Dunne is an Australian freestyle swimmer.
Jason Cram is an Australian freestyle swimmer.
The lawn bowls competition at the 2002 Commonwealth Games took place in Heaton Park, Manchester, England from 25 July until 4 August 2002.
England competed at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986.
The men's 1500 metre freestyle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games as part of the swimming programme took place on 3 and 4 August at the Manchester Aquatics Centre in Manchester, England.
