XX Commonwealth Games - Curtains fall on Glasgow, Gold Coast takes the reigns |05 August 2014

Hampden Park hosted the closing ceremony of the XX Commonwealth Games on Sunday night in vibrant festival of music, which featured various greats such as Glasgow’s own Lulu and Australian superstar Kylie Minogue.

The city of Glasgow hosted the games for 11 days and it has been an amazing time for competitors, officials, tourists and locals alike as the stadium that played host to the athletics events during the games to centre stage to bring an end to proceedings.

Organisers had just 18 hours to transform the arena from the setting for Glasgow 2014's track & field events into the city's ‘Commonwealth festival’.

In keeping with the festival theme, the athletes who took part in the Games emerged from almost 700 tents dotted throughout the stadium.
The competition, featuring 17 different sports, saw more than 140 Commonwealth and several world records broken.

The focus of the ceremony was to honour not only the athletes, but also the over 220 volunteers who gave their time to help to the smooth running of things over the course of the games.

With various groups and singers taking the stage to entertain the crowd, the highlight though was when the Commonwealth Games flag was taken down to be handed to the organisers of the 2018 Games, which will be held in Gold Coast Australia.

There was also the David Dixon award which was presented by the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Prince Imran. The David Dixon Award is named after the former honorary secretary of the Commonwealth Games Federation for 17 years, David Dixon.

It is given to the outstanding athlete of each of the Commonwealth Games based on their performance at the Commonwealth Games, fair play, and overall contribution to their team’s involvement at the Commonwealth Games. The award was introduced in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

This year the award went to Welsh Rhythmic Gymnast Francesca Jones.
Glasgow 2014 chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin paid tribute to the athletes who ‘gave it their all’ and the Clyde-siders, whom he described as the ‘lifeblood’ of the Games.

“No matter who you are or where you are, sport has the power to make you feel part of something bigger. That is something we've witnessed here in Scotland over the last 11 days,” he said.

He added: “We've welcomed the world to our dear green place and it has been an experience we will never forget. Thank you Glasgow and thank you Scotland. You've done us proud.

“Soon we will hand over to Gold Coast 2018, and on behalf of Glasgow 2014, I would like to wish them every success. Our dreams and ambitions are now yours. Good luck from Glasgow.

“Tonight the Games leave Glasgow, but Glasgow will never forget the Commonwealth Games. It has made its mark on our city. It has won a place in our hearts. Already, it is a proud part of our history. History that belongs to Glasgow.”

While Seychelles did not manage to win any medals at the games, some athletes did leave their mark and this has also served as some much-needed exposure for our athletes ahead of the 2015 Indian Ocean Island Games in Reunion.

The closest Seychelles came to winning a medal this time was through Clementina Agricole who unluckily finished fourth in weightlifting, missing out on a bronze medal by only 3kg.

Seychelles had sent its biggest ever delegation to these games, where we made our debut in squash and Para-Sports.

England topped the medals table with 58 gold medals, with Australia second with 49, followed by Canada who got 32 gold medals. Hosts Scotland finished fourth with 19 gold medals during the games.
South Africa was the highest ranked African nation with 13 gold medals to its name.

Text and photo Sedrick Nicette in Glasgow