II INTRODUCTION
- As the date for the opening of the XVII Commonwealth Games in Manchester draws closer, we decided to look again at the preparations for the Games, requesting a memorandum on the progress to date from the major partners in the project. This work follows on from inquiries undertaken by the previous Committee in the 1997 Parliament, who reported on the preparations for the Manchester Commonwealth Games.[6]
- The previous Committee made several recommendations on the concerns it perceived including: sponsorship; merchandising; funding; the wider regeneration of East Manchester; ticketing; and the wider national awareness of the Games. These are set out in the Annex in full.[7] In February 2002 we asked the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Sport England, Manchester City Council and M2002, for memoranda to clarify how the previous Committee's concerns had been tackled. The bodies concerned provided us with a joint memorandum and also reported on the progress of preparations for the Games to date (see Appendix 1).[8] In addition, an update on ticket sales and sponsorship was provided by the Chief Executive of M2002 (see Appendix 2).[9]
- The Committee visited Manchester in February 2002, and met with the representatives from Manchester 2002 Limited (M2002), Manchester City Council (MCC), Sport England, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) who provided briefings to the Committee on the preparations for the Games. Whilst in Manchester, the Committee viewed the City of Manchester Stadium site and the Belle Vue Leisure Centre, and met representatives at the Volunteer Centre. The Committee also had an informal meeting with Mr Charles Allen, Chairman of M2002, in April. We are grateful to those parties for providing the Committee with a comprehensive update on progress.
6 Fourth Report, 1998-99, HC 124 and Third Report, 2000-01, HC 286 Back
7 See p.20 Back
8 Ev 1 Back
9 Ev 7 Back
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