The seventh Commonwealth Games Federation Sports Breakfast today continued the tradition of bringing together heads of government, special guests and leading figures from the world of sports.
The seventh Commonwealth Games Federation Sports Breakfast today continued the tradition of bringing together heads of government, special guests and leading figures from the world of sports. The breakfast took place during the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), hosted for the first time by Sri Lanka.
Around 250 guests attended the breakfast.
The hosts were the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, HRH Tunku Imran of Malaysia, and the Sri Lankan President HE Mahinda Rajapaksa.
As well as heads of government, ministers, high commissioners and senior figures from the 52 Commonwealth countries, invited guests also included many stars of Sri Lankan sport such as former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team Kumar Sangakkara, widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest batsman; Muttiah Muralitharan, thought by many to be the world’s greatest-ever test bowler; and Susanthika Jayasinghe, the first Sri Lankan woman to win an Olympic medal.
They were joined by a large number of athletes hoping to gain a place to compete at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.
Aside from the two hosts, presentations were also made by the Rt. Hon. Hugo Swire, UK Minister for the Commonwealth (representing British Prime Minister David Cameron), and Shona Robison MSP, the Scottish sports minister.
HRH Tunku Imran, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, spoke to the assembled guests about the preparations for next year’s Games in Glasgow, the Federation’s partnership with UNICEF, which is already delivering a range of projects to improve the lives of children across the Commonwealth, and his hopes that Fiji’s current suspension from the Commonwealth might soon be lifted, so that its athletes can compete at Glasgow.
He added: “We are now just 249 days away from the 20th Commonwealth Games. The Games are, to quote the former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Sir Don McKinnon, ‘the most visible public manifestation of the Commonwealth’. A powerful illustration of this is the Queen’s baton relay; launched last month by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Its journey will take it to all the nations and territories of the Commonwealth. Through the relay we are highlighting not only the power of the Games to unite the people of the Commonwealth but also to focus on our partnership with UNICEF.”
Contact: Peter Murphy, Director of Communications at the Commonwealth Games Federation on +44 (0)207 491 8801 or [email protected]
View and download Sports Breakfast images and videos from the Commonwealth Digital Library: assets.thecommonwealth.org |
