Fast facts: What you need to know about the Commonwealth Games

Below are some exciting facts about the Commonwealth Games, the unique sporting event held once every four years.

17:14 23 July 2014

• The Commonwealth is made up by 53 member countries with thirty one of them having a population size of 1.5million people or less.
• Sixteen of the 53 Commonwealth member countries have HM Queen Elizabeth as their queen.
• Before this year’s event in Glasgow, Scotland has hosted the “friendly games” twice before: in 1970 and 1986.
• The Commonwealth has helped about three fourths of its members strengthen their legal system.
• Alister Allan is Scotland’s most successful Commonwealth athlete with 3 Gold, 3 Silver, and 4 Bronze medals.
• The Commonwealth Marathon will cover the route through the Merchant City, George Square, and Buchanan Street.
• In November 09, 2007, Glasgow won the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
• Athletes participating in the games are expected to eat 60 tonnes of potatoes and 500,000 pieces of fruit during the games.
• The Queen’s Baton Relay will cover 190,000km.
• The youngest Official Ambassador for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games is Tom Daley.
• An official Glasgow 2014 50p coin was released by Royal Mint as a lasting reminder of the Commonwealth Games.
• Australia has won the most number of medals with 803 Golds as of pre-games 2014. It’s also the only country with over 2,000 medals.
• Glasgow 2014’s Official Mascot, Clyde, visited over 600,000 people in Scotland.
• 31 members are considered small states.
• The Youth Commonwealth Games will be held in Samoa in 2015.
• Commonwealth Games are made up of 10 core sports.
• Official education programme of the Commonwealth Games will benefit over 250,000 pupils from the “Game On Scotland.”
• The 2014 Games will highlight the importance of teamwork and collaboration within and between Commonwealth countries.
• During the opening ceremony, the largest ever LED screen in Europe will be used.
• 370 young entrepreneurs benefited from £780,000 worth of loans through the work of the Commonwealth.
• E-health helps Commonwealth citizens maintain healthy lives.