XXVII Commonwealth Games

The largest Commonwealth Games held in the United Kingdom leaves a legacy for the City of Manchester

At its time the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games were the largest Commonwealth Games ever held and the largest multi-sport event held in the United Kingdom since the 1948 London Olympics, eclipsing the previous games of London 1934, Cardiff 1958 and Edinburgh in 1970 and 1986.

Key EPG personnel undertook a diverse range of service deliverables in both the athlete village program and venues directorate with emphasis on event overlay & infrastructure design and implementation, athlete village operations, athlete & event catering and event management & operations, holding venue management and precinct management roles.

The Commonwealth Games Village, located in the Fallowfield Campus of Manchester University, was host to nearly five thousand (5000) athletes and officials from seventy-two (72) countries. Our team members played an integral role in the planning and implementation of the athlete village operations function of the games village. With a thirty (30) day operational period and fit-out required for in excess of three thousand (3000+) rooms, EPG personnel were responsible for activities that included materials handling and warehouse operations, move-in and move-out of furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E), asset management and procurement, freight and resident baggage, linen services and Salle Port management and operations. Our team members also played an integral role in athlete & event catering providing planning advice and ongoing management of the design and operation of catering services, cleaning and waste practices.

Additionally we provided significant input into the operational design of the venues within the precinct known as Sportcity. This ultimately also led to our team members acting as the precinct venue manager in Sportcity for the Manchester velodrome (cycling), Manchester Regional Arena (warm-up facility) and National Squash Centre which contains a unique glass walled show court that floats on air and can be re-positioned within the facility depending on tournament requirements.

Olympic president Jacques Rogge said the Games had gone a long way to restoring Britain's credibility in terms of hosting big sporting events and reassured the UK it could successfully stage major events, ultimately leading to the United Kingdom successfully staging the London 2012 Olympic Games.