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It may only
seem like yesterday - but - it's a year since the Commonwealth Games
began.
They were, without a doubt, a roaring success - but three months
on, what are the lasting benefits?
We want to hear from you. What impressed you about the Games? How
can Manchester build on the spirit of the Games? What is the sporting
legacy for Manchester?
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I
was a voluter at the games. For me it was working with the other people
on Mag & Bag Security. Also seeing the diferent national dress of
each country and just to be there when histroy was made by Pauler
Radcilff, and all the other partisans. Well done Pauler.
Graham.E.Fuller |
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The
games brought love and joy to the city of Manchester. It also brought
for once a international world class event out of London. This has
given not only just Manchester a opotunity but citys outside of London
a inscentive to try for the running of such advents.
Tom Smith |
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Juno
is right, although the games may have been a big sucess in the eyes
of the visitors for residents this was just a publicity stunt. The
regeneration of Manchester was purley for the games period and now
they are over and all eyes are off the city all the regeneration plans
have vertually come to a complete stand still. The Commonwealth Games
was called 'The Friendley Games'. I don't think that making somewhere
look temporarily nice for the benefit of the reputation of the city
is friendly do you?
Kimberly |
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I
had tears on my eyes when I saw my old haunt at rivington on the telly
in new zealand . gosh I am so proud of Manchester, I saw no nicer
sights in Sydney during the olympics!! Lancashire and Manchseter are
great
John |
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near
and during the time of the games i witnessed how a lot of the oldham
road landscape was disguised, and partly hidden, obviously to pretend
that everything about manchester is just fine. it was like banner
city, and still is, but in decay. the fields where the scally kids
play were hidden from view by a wall banner, which was removed afterwards.
the pretty flower banners still stand on the side of the road as we
go north up oldham road. something about works on those fields following
shortly. when is shortly? what works? i'm sorry if this is sort of
off topic, but it was the only fact that impacted on my life at the
time of the games, as i wasn't really interest in the games at all.
i think the whole thing was a big publicity stunt to attract people
to come live in manchester and occupy the 10 million expensive trendy
lofts and offices that are appearing everywhere. obviously once they
kick out the simple normal folk out of neighbourhoods like ancoats!
t! hey wish to fullfil their plans, hence all the showing off these
games have allowed.
juno |
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Just
wanted to say congratulations to Manchester on an amazing job well
done,what a games.
Lee Emberson
London |
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My
wife and I were lucky enough to see the netball, Australia - Fiji
and England - Wales which had a fantastic atmosphere but the best
part of the games in which I will remember for years to come was the
mens 50k walk. it was not that Nathan Deakes won but that everyone
stayed and cheered on Gareth Brown. the medal presentation was delayed
till he completed the race and the suport that he got from everyone
was just something special to see. it showed that there is a lot more
to the commonwealth games that just getting medals.
Colin Cook
Moe, Victoria, Australia |
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Well
done womens gymnastics team for getting gold. GO AUSSIE!!!!!
Gena Campbell
Melbourne,Victoria,Australia |
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Doin
a great job with the games guys.
Martin
ex-Newmarket UK/ Now Australia |
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To
Steve Mooning. You are obviously one of the Southerners who were so
sure that Manchester would fail to put on these games successfully.
Well you are all having to eat humble pie. Pickets Lock ?, Wembley
? Oh dear. Want us to organise things for you ?
Jay Kerr
Manchester |
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Totally
impressed by everything. And good to see people finally getting the
point about the stadium being used by Manchester City. The whole Sport
City project is looking good.
Bess
Oldham |
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Firstly
I loved the baton carriers, then I was amazed by the Opening Ceremony.
We've had tickets for a few events and been impressed by the venues.
The CoMS is top notch and I'm pleased it is going to be used as a
football stadium later. Much as I enjoy watching the athletics I feel
it is better for the stadium to be used on a regular basis by Manchester
City with money going to the other sports development projects. Well
done to those concerned for getting everything sorted before now instead
of thinking in August 'What shall we do with it now?'. I've also enjoyed
the bbc coverage of the Games
Lancashire Rose
Lancashire |
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Why
did your panel of experts give so much of their time about why Anthony
Wightman did not win the 1500 metres rather than giving Michael East
the accolades he so richly deserved for actually winning the Gold
Medal.He ran a brilliant race whereas Wightman didn't appear to have
any belief in himself.An excellent result for Michael East!He's a
winner.
Delya Sutton
Cramlington |
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I have just returned from spending the last 5 days at the games in
Manchester,amazing is the only word I can think of to describe what
I saw and experienced. On arriving we found the city to look colourful,clean
and generally buzzing. The volunteers had big smiles and were so friendly
as were all the people in Manchester, we felt so welcome. The venues
were superbly equipped and also looked fantastic and we could not
believe how well the games were organised. I have had the most unbelievable
time in Manchester and despite being an East Londoner I can say that
Manchester has shown itself to be a stronger contender than London
for any future olympic bid. Pat yourselves on the back Manchester,
the best commonwealth games I have ever known.
Lee Emberson
London,England |
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The
stadium plans could easily be adapted, if the will existed, by developing
the ends of the stadium to house 48,000 Man City Fans and still retain
the track. To dig it up is nothing short of a national scandal and
slap in the face to the north of England. A different outcome would
have been certain if the stadium was in London. Mr. Cabon should take
note that ALL the public of Gt. Britain deserves top class sporting
facilities and a chance to experience World class events more than
once in a lifetime. Why couldn't the World championships have been
moved to a wonderful new venue at the City of Manchester stadium?
Man City deserve to be the main users of the stadium and shouldn't
be expected to lose out in any way but Sport England should be turning
cartwheels to support ways of retaining the track in revised plans.
The fiasco of Londons Pickets Lock is hardly an advert for British
Sport? Well done Manchester a first class event and atmosphere. Manchester
could easily stage an Olympics and why shouldn't we? Superb games,
superb coverage. Well done to everyone involved.
Nick Froggatt
Oldham |
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One
thing these Games have done is illustrate what a total shambles the
whole Wembley and Picketts Lock thing has been. The truth is that
major events can be staged north of Watford and yet everyone is still
obsessed with London and national facilties. Lots of people knocked
Manchester for putting in for the Olympics in the 1990s, but at least
they had a vision and the bottle to go for it. The Commonwealth Games
is definitely a big event and was been a massive success for the city.
There has been talk of London going for the Olympics and even piggy-backing
on the success of Manchester, but it will be interesting to see if
London can get itself together to mount a serious bid. All that's
happening so far is just making everyone involved a joke
Russ Bowden
Warrington |
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My
favourite part of the games is the awards ceremony, where the medals
are held by people in cloth caps and waistcoats. Have they got clogs
on as well ? Would it be possible for one of them to have a whippet
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Steve Mooning
Stourbridge |
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Out
of 12 Gold medals so far, 2 are for shooting. Out of 11 silvers 4
are for shooting (2 in women's events) and out of 11 Bronze medals,
over 50 %, 6 medals are for shooting (again 2 are in women's events).
So much for the TV coverage, despite there being supposedly over 100
´óÏó´«Ã½ technicians at Bisley, we have seen nothing! Mike Babb and Neil
Day won Gold in the 50m prone pairs competition and yet the story
is buried out of site on the website. Whilst Manchester coverage is
great and all credit to the performances of all the athletes there,
the TV coverage is always Track & Field, Swimming, Gymnastics, Boxing
etc etc. If shooting is difficult to portray on TV then you could
at least show some medal ceremonies and give our shooting team the
great credit that they deserve!
Robert Beard
Newton Abbot, Devon |
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The
people of Manchester should be very proud of their games, I have really
enjoyed them even if it has meant at times missing out on sleep. They
have done a fabulous job.
powell
Narrandera Australia |
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i
think that they should put more mens gymnastics on at a reasinble
TIME.
Sam&Zoe
Huonville Tasmania Australia |
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Lee
Heywood is obviously a Man Utd fan and sore that a fine stadium is
going to be home to the only Football team in Manchester. The games
are being a huge success and being enjoyed bay all, myself included.
However in order for the stadium to be viable after the games a long
term tenant had to be found, that tenant is Manchester City FC. It
has not been handed to them on a silver platter, half the gate reciepts
on crowds above 32,000 go to Manchester City Council during the term
of the lease. That is an awful lot of money given that they expect
to have 40,000 crowds plus every two weeks during the football season
plus any home cup ties. The council also take over the multi million
pound Maine Road Stadium. Whilst people in other parts of the country
may not have been aware of these facts all here in Greater Manchester
were made well aware, details were published in the Manchester Evening
News and broadcast on GMR Radio. Without Manchester City's involvement
the Stadium could not have been built. Here is hoping the rest of
the games are as successfull as the begining.
G E Booth
Manchester |
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a few things
said previously have made me react! lee heywood says: "I think that
overall, the events will be a massive boost to Manchester and especially
with the new 40,000 or there abouts all seater stadium which is
a superb design but the only let down is that a second division
football club may then be moving into it 1 year later. " for a start,
it's Premiership, so if you have to say ridiculous comments, use
proper facts please! secondly, jemina hall says: "I would like to
know why we have to give funding an any money we have to build yet
again another football club, which we have hundreds in the country,
and now count all the national stadiums for athletics? " the reason
there are hundreds of football stadiums is that there are hundreds
of clubs! all stadiums are not like this, some are getting old,
such as maine road, and need redoing or replacing. many stadiums,
lower down, are not much different than your athletics stadiums,
and are usually, if you looked, for both athletics AND football.
if the M2002 should go to MCFC, it's because it was decided before
it was to go to them afterwards, and Radcliffe etc...idea to build
the stadium outwards and leave the running area would cost a fortune,
a lot more than just destroying the running area, and lowering the
pitch down. and all this money saved could be spent on a lovely
stadium for you!
beagle
manchester
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What
atheletics forgets as a sport is that outside of the Olympics and
World championships it is a minority sport with very little public
interest. The fact is it manages to punch above its weight and get
far greater coverage on TV (especially the ´óÏó´«Ã½) than it should get.
There is no way a national athletics stadium can be justified as it
will turn into a white elephant. The experts on the athletics are
generally dull and uninteresting. I tuned into the highlights last
night which listed judo and cycling to find no cycling being covered.
I have as yet not seen any cycling coverage although in terms of participation
week in week out it is far bigger sport than Athletics. Why does the
music in the stadium have to turn the stadium into a pub disco? Other
than that Manchester have done a fantastic job of showing the world
there is more to England than London.
Mark Dorril
Birmingham |
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At
the risk of making this look like a Man City board, I must agree with
Anji etc. Not only is the Council / MCFC deal generating money long
term, but it also means that City have part-financed the stadium in
terms of relinquishing Maine Road. I've heard several people perpetrate
the myth that "Athletics are letting City have the stadium", which
just isn't true, what we have is a Football Stadium that is being
temporarily used for an Athletics Event. Can't comment on the coverage
I'm afraid, as we only get brief highlights over here
John
Singapore |
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How
about showing some of the shooting. They have after all contributed
many of the medals so far. Even if it's only a late night showing,
as long as you advertise it, I, and many members of my club would
certainly stay up to watch it, as I would expect many other shooters
across the country to. It may not be a spectator sport to the uninitiated,
but to those who partake in the sport, it would be a great way to
learn more about it. If you show it that is! I went to Bisley to watch
some of the events last weekend, so I know you have the cameras available.
Other than the lack opf televised shooting, congrats on an otherwise
well coordinated coverage.
Antony Dingle
Slough |
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why
oh why doesnt the cameras covering the judo competition show both
fights on the mats??when the fight on the first mat finishes the camera
stays on the flags or the empty mat!!! it is very irratating eespecially
when you can hear the other fights. the coverage is crap!!!!!!!
Susan
by e-mail |
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´óÏó´«Ã½
Great opening title sequence. Good Visual and soundtrack Well done
Damian Reynolds
Manchester, UK |
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A
Discussion on ´óÏó´«Ã½ tonight was wondering why the field events were
getting a higher profile. Well, after visiting the stadium tonight
I can only congratulate the Stadium commentary team for focusing and
informing the crowd of all the events going on in the Stadium. The
presentation was first class!
Barry Allen
Manchester |
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As
an "exiled" Manc in the North East (after travelling Europe for the
past 3 years) I was amazed at the change in the City when I visited
this weekend to visit the games. Superb, excellent are words that
are often thrown around but in this case are soundly meant. However,
I am saddened that a few people, specifically athletics commentators
and participants (a minority sport in the UK with participation at
lower levels than "sports" such as snooker)have questioned the fact
that City will be moving into the stadium after M2002. It was THE
only viable option for Manchester and City themselves, and will continue
to generate money (for Manchester Council, and subsequently one would
hope for the residents of the City and surrounding areas)for the next
100 years of the lease. Why should it not stay as an athletics stadium?
Ask Sheffield about the Don Valley stadium and their attempts to find
someone who can fill a stadium that big 26 times a year (minimum).
Could athletics do this? Find 48,000 people (as it will be) every
2 weeks from August to April... I think not, I rest my case.
Alex Hurst
Middlesbrough, UK |
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The
games coverage is very good until that logo zooms onto the screen
before every replay.Obviousley the bod who thought of it has never
experianced chinese water torture
Nev Cruikshank
Sydney Australia |
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Im getting fed
up with the so called experts and presant athletes going on about
letting MCFC take over the stadium......You have to realise that
without MCFC there wouldnt be a stadium as we will be paying £5m
a year to play there if the stadium is full every week and with
16000 fans on the waiting list for season tickets i think it will
be.These so called experts dont have a clue on the planning part
MCFC have had in this stadium so please SHUT THEM UP TILL THEY GET
THE FULL FACT THE MAKE THEM THANK MCFC FOR LETTING THEM USE THERE
STADIUM.......Its getting on my nerves and putting me of the games
for good listening to them go on about it.
bryan
manchester
Editor's
note
This is one of many virtually identical postings
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Just
a note of support to my fellow Manchester City fans... please would
the ´óÏó´«Ã½ make sure of facts on the financing and origins of the stadium.
I too, am fed up of having to explain them to people who have fallen
for what the ignorant on TV are telling them. Once I have explained,
people are happy about MCFC having the stadium after the games. Facts
please, not opinion based on ignorance.
Anji
Chester, England |
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