Thursday , November 7 2024

‘Embracing everybody’ – Commonwealth boss signals Games rebranding

However, there was also a series of protests by indigenous activists who dubbed them the “Stolenwealth Games”, a reference to Britain’s colonisation of Australia.

And there appeared to be discomfort when English diver Tom Daley, who is gay, pointed out that homosexuality remains illegal in 37 Commonwealth countries and territories.

As part of the revamp, Martin said she was also considering Duel in the Pool-style offshoots, potentially lining up the Commonwealth against major powers in sports such as swimming or athletics.

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“We’re in the process of talking about these things and yes, we want to take the Commonwealth slightly further,” she said, taking inspiration from swimming’s Duel, which pitted the United States against Australia or Europe.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure that these athletes can get to compete against, say, the Americas or… one other country that we can have a fantastic competition with, like Duel in the Pool.

“Or an athletics event so that everybody can see the standard that we have within the Commonwealth.”

She added: “When you start to see the athletes that have come here and the standard that they are, we can compete with anyone anywhere. And I think (they would be) fun events.”

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