The 2006 Commonwealth Games will be held in Melbourne, Australia between March 15 and March 26.

Early concerns have arisen about the large cost of staging the Games, with projected costs likely to be over 1 billion Australian dollars and a high likelihood the state government will have to cover the expense. The cost has been described in local media as excessive for what many regard as a non-premier sports event. Melbourne's premier sporting ground, the MCG is currently being redeveloped in preparation for the games. An athlete's village in the inner suburb of Parkville will house approximately 7 000 athletes and support staff during the Games, and will then be turned into commercial housing with a ditinctly eco-friendly image. The creation of this village has attracted controversy, with critics claiming it was created by alienating public parkland, while proponents maintain that is the renewal of an otherwise derelict inner-city area.

A vast majority of venues for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games are already built and have hosted major events and many of these venues will host a number of different sports concurrently.

The site for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be the magnificent internationally recognised Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which was also used during Melbourne's 1956 Olympic Games.

The mascot for the games is Karak a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (a threatened species ).

The final program of events has not yet been finalised but is expected to look similar to this:

• Aquatics
• Athletics
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Cycling
• EAD Events
• Gymnastics
• Field Hockey
• Lawn Bowls
• Netball
• Rugby Sevens
• Shooting
• Squash
• Table Tennis
• Triathlon
• Weightlifting

Commonwealth Games Associations

External link

• Melbourne 2006
• Melbourne Marathon 1956-2006