All the venues were excellent, many were new and all – as long as someone finds the money to keep them open – will provide a legacy for the people of Delhi


Spectators at some venues may have been in short supply but the opening and closing ceremonies proved popular and set the stage for things to come


Bureaucracy rules You have to remember that India was once British. From the ‘Lutyens’ design of the government buildings to the sol- diers in the Indian army, there is a British heritage that was much stronger than I expected. Then there’s the bureaucracy. I’m sure this was British too, but maybe we have moved on, whereas India per- haps has not. The transport was a typical example. The volunteer drivers from Delhi apparently gave up fairly quickly because they were not allowed water in the car, food or breaks. So the organis- ers brought in and paid for drivers from outside Delhi. Unfortunately few spoke English and most did not know the area, so a typical half-hour journey took an hour and a half! There also seemed to be an inability to say ‘no’. Your car would be promised in five minutes, and half an hour later, still no car. Then it arrived but wasn’t allowed to stop and wait for you. There was no doubt that security had to answer for a great deal and the threat


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was very real. I’m sure at least 10 per cent of the Indian army must have been in Del- hi – on Commonwealth Games’ routes, there was a solider almost every 100 yards. Soldiers with machine guns were situated behind piles of sandbags outside many venues and at road intersections and even with VIP accreditation you went through three check points to enter a venue with women being checked behind a screen. In hotels too all your hand lug- gage and briefcases had to go through airport-style luggage machines. Whether it was security or bureaucra-


cy that prevented the sale of tickets, I’m not sure, but no venue I visited was more than a third full. People complained they were told the venues were sold out, lo- cal people demonstrated outside the Commonwealth Games headquarters be- cause either they wanted to have tickets, or wanted school children to have free tickets. Whatever the problem, it didn’t seem to improve throughout the Games. All the venues however, were excellent; many were new and all (as long as some- one finds the funds to keep them open) will provide a legacy of facilities for the people of Delhi in the future.


The family games The sport was of course wonderful. The Commonwealth Games are often called the ‘Family Games’ and are an opportu- nity for athletes to meet and compete against each other from around the Com- monwealth. I’m not of the view that they are something of an anachronism, and because the Olympics is only for those really at the very pinnacle of their sport, the Commonwealth Games provides an


opportunity for many more athletes to feel that thrill of achievement. For the Indian public, they came alive watch- ing their athletes win. I was in the stadium when Kavita Raut made history by being the first Indian woman to win a medal in an individual track event – winning bronze in the 10,000m. The stadium just erupted. Like everyone else there I was willing this girl to hang on and was delighted to read in the local paper next day that the government will pay for the education of all the Indian medal winners in the hope that it will inspire others to achieve at this level.


Green appeal India was far greener than I expected. The local taxis and tuk tuks ran on gas, which really has reduced the pollution in Delhi. As someone a little nervous about fast traffic, Delhi is extraordi- nary. You can’t imagine how cars do not crash, but in actual fact they do not go that fast. Women and babies are carried side-saddle on the back of motorbikes and bicycles carry unimaginable loads of goods which somehow do not fall off. If you watched the opening ceremony,


the BBC did a quick tour of Delhi and its people. A reminder perhaps of the ex- posure to the world we will achieve in London in 2012. It is this exposure, for those who did not go to Delhi, coupled with warm weather, kindness and a true welcome for those of us who did go which will encourage us to go back again. India and the Games were great and I for one can’t wait to return. Brigid Simmonds OBE is chair of the Sport and Recreation Alliance ●


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