Posted on June 6: Hamilton welcomes the world
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/cwstudentsDN.jpg” caption=”Students welcome delegates”]
McMaster and the City of Hamilton will roll out the red carpet this summer for international delegates who will determine where the 2010 Commonwealth Games will be held.
Hamilton and New Dehli, the two cities bidding for the games, lodged bids in London, England on May 30. The next step of the bid process is a series of international visits, in which delegates from 70 Commonwealth countries will visit each city, and have the opportunity to see the specific qualities of each location.
These personal visits could act as the turning point for some countries in how they cast their ballot in the November 13 vote that determines who will host the 2010 Games. In all, delegates from 72 nations will cast votes; Hamilton needs 37 votes to win the bid.
The first international visit began yesterday (Thursday), when representatives from the countries of the Americas Guyana, Bermuda, Belize, and the Falkland islands arrived in Hamilton. The visit, which lasts for four days, will see delegates touring McMaster campus on Saturday, June 7.
Over the course of the summer, delegates from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Oceania regions will travel to Hamilton and McMaster to see and evaluate local venues for the games.
Between now and then, both Hamilton and New Dehli planning committees will be engaged in an international lobby effort to gain support for their bids. The Commonwealth Games Associations have been invited to travel to India in October to observe the Afro-Asian Games and evaluate India's bid.
In preparation for the Hamilton site visits, several members of the McMaster community have been working feverishly to ensure everything is in place. Like the Americas visit, subsequent delegate visits in Hamilton will also be four-days long and follow a similar schedule with tours of the city and designated sport venues, visits to McMaster, and planned working sessions.
The size of the visiting groups will vary from as few as four to as many as 15 at one time. The largest group to visit campus will come from the Caribbean. Another large contingent, Africa, will split its visits over two sessions, one in June and the other in August. In all, there will be nine site visits to campus between June and August. Visitors will also include the Commonwealth Games Federation executive and its evaluative team.
If Hamilton is selected as the site of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, McMaster will be the location for the athletes' village and many sporting events. In addition, a new stadium, aquatic centre, and multi-sports complex would be built at McMaster to host the Games.
The Hamilton 2010 Commonwealth Games Bid Corporation has organized a number of community activities for the visits, including welcoming ceremonies, a breakfast highlighting Hamilton's cultural diversity, and visits to neighbouring attractions, such as Niagara Falls.
University Advancement vice-president Roger Trull is leading McMaster's involvement in the Games bid and assisting with the international lobby effort. “Hamilton and McMaster are strong partners in this bid and we are confident that the bid package we have submitted will be successful. The Games will bring tremendous benefits to both Hamilton and McMaster, the transformation both on and off campus will be magnificent and virtually unparalleled,” says Trull.
Photo caption: Students Felicity Humblestone, Kipp Kaufmann, and Scott Johnston are part of McMaster's team working on the 2010 Commonwealth Games bid.
