Commonwealth games 2022. A bouquet of cultural diversity

 Ishtiaq Ahmed 

The Commonwealth games, often referred to as the Friendly Games, is an international multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has taken place every four years since then.

 This time around the  Commonwealth Games 2022 are being held in Birmingham, the fourth greenest city in the United Kingdom with over 8,000 acres of green space with 571 parks, 15 of which have been awarded green flag status.

The City’s population is a diverse array of ethnicities, nationalities, faiths, cultures and language making it a vibrant cultural hub. People of Pakistan heritage are 13.5 per cent making them the largest single minority ethnic community in the city. Urdu is also only second to English.

The  Commonwealth Games 2022 are being held in Birmingham, the fourth greenest city in the United Kingdom with over 8,000 acres of green space with 571 parks, 15 of which have been awarded green flag status.

The theme of the 2022 games is humanity, equality and justice. All these themes were represented throughout the opening ceremony which was vibrant, colorful, beautifully arranged and choreographed and performed by members of the diverse communities residing in Birmingham.

The opening welcome was done by our own Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education and the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. She is the world’s youngest winner of the Nobel Prize and the second Pakistani and the first Pashtun to ever receive the Noble Peace Prize. The opening welcome by Malala was a moment of pride for me and I believe for other Pakistanis in Britain and elsewhere.

The 2020 games were inaugurated by Charles, the Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, representing the Queen.

The opening welcome by Malala was a moment of pride for me and I believe for other Pakistanis in Britain and elsewhere.

Over 7,000 sportsmen and sportswomen, representing 72 nations, are taking part in games over the coming 12 days. For the first time in the history of these games there are more medals for women as compared to men, 136 to 134. Also, the Paralympic games are integrated into the programme.

 Pakistan ‘s contingent is made up of 103 athletes, coaching staff and officials. 68 athletes will take part in 12 different sports, 27 of these are women, including 15 players of the T20 women Cricket Team. T20 is included in the games for the first time.

 Other sports in which the Pakistani athletes will take part include hockey, swimming, athletics, badminton, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, judo, squash, gymnastics and table tennis.