Prince Charles to inaugurate CWG

Press Trust Of India
Posted on Sep 27, 2010 at 21:19 | Updated Sep 27, 2010 at 22:09

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London/New Delhi: The suspense over who will declare the Commonwealth Games open ended on Monday with the announcement that Prince Charles will do the honours even as streams of international athletes continued to check in at the Games Village on a relatively controversy-free day for the organisers.

After weeks of scandals, star pullouts and criticism over the state of the Games Village, the hassled organisers heaved a sigh of relief as traditional powerhouses such as Australia, Canada and a second batch of English athletes checked in.

There were also no individual pullouts from the event on Monday.

Confusion grew over who will open the event among Charles and President Pratibha Patil but the Brit Royal's office Clarence House ended it in the evening by issuing a statement, asserting that the heir-to-the-throne will inaugurate it.

Charles is attending the Games as a representative of Queen Elizabeth II, the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth who will give the event a miss for the first time in 44 years.

"There is no row. Both The Prince of Wales and the President of India will have a prominent role in the opening ceremony in Delhi. The Queen has asked The Prince of Wales to represent her at the opening of the Commonwealth Games.

"We cannot be specific about the choreography but The Prince will read out the Queen's baton message, ending by declaring the Games open," a statement from the Clarence House read.

Rashtrapati Bhawan refused to comment on the matter but an OC official said India wanted President Patil to open the event.

"As per the CWG protocol, it is the Queen who inaugurates the Games but in her absence, this issue has cropped up. It is true that there is a move to ask the President to inaugurate the Games," the official said.

Earlier, a British tabloid has claimed that President Patil could ultimately inaugurate the event.

However, there were some unsavoury developments on the sidelines of the Games' build-up with the Commonwealth Games Federation and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit locked in a verbal duel.

A day after CGF CEO Mike Hooper's criticism blaming authorities for the lack of preparations and reportedly blamed traffic snarls in Delhi on India's vast population, Dikshit hit back at him.

"It is really a very unkind and undiplomatic remark that has been made," Dikshit told reporters here.

However, Hooper received strong backing from CGF boss Mike Fennell, who insisted that the New Zealander neither blamed the Indian government nor made any disparaging comments about India, as was reported in the media. (ibn live)