The closing ceremony of the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event, in New Delhi, India. It began at 7:00 pm (

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) on 14 October 2010 and ended at 9:20 pm (IST). The ceremony included display of martial arts from a number of states of India followed by musical performances and showcasing the culture of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, which will host the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

in Glasgow.

Sequence of events

Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

Jana Gana Mana "" is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as " Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" in Bengali by polymath and activist Rabindranath Tagore on 11 December 1911. The first stanza of the song " Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" ...

" was played in the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.

Countdown

The ceremony began with a countdown at the screen starting at 18, footage from previous games appeared with Delhi at the end complete with an image of fireworks with numbers between 18 and 1 being from previous games until 0 from currents games * 18 - 1930 Hamilton * 17 - 1934 London * 16 - 1938 Sydney * 15 - 1950 Auckland * 14 - 1954 Vancouver * 13 - 1958 Cardiff * 12 - 1962 Perth * 11 - 1966 Kingston * 10 - 1970 Edinburgh * 9 - 1974 Christchurch * 8 - 1978 Edmonton * 7 - 1982 Brisbane * 6 - 1986 Edinburgh * 5 - 1990 Auckland * 4 - 1994 Victoria * 3 - 1998 Kuala Lumpur * 2 - 2002 Manchester * 1 - 2006 Melbourne

''Agni''

The cultural programme began with a segment titled ''Agni'', in which skills in eight Indian martial arts forms: Kalaripayattu, Naga warriors, Thangta, Gatka, Silambam, Akhara, Dhan Patta, Talwar Raas were displayed by 800 performers from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

in an eight-minute act.

''Military Martial Music'' and ''Tribute to Our Motherland

The next segment was the ''Milatary Martial Music'', which comprised the performance by the 650 musicians from fourteen military bands, 17 pipes and drums of a number of regiments and battalions of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. It was followed by the segment ''Tribute to Our Motherland''. It was a performance by 2,010 schoolchildren to the tunes of

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

's composition

Vande Mataram Vande Mātaram (Bengali language, Original Bengali: বন্দে মাতরম্‌ ''Bônde Mātôrôm'' Devanagari script: वंदे मातरम्; , Transcreation: I Bow to Thee, Mother) is a poem that was adopted as the nati ...

. A group of performers moved in to form the

Ashoka Chakra The Ashoka Chakra (Transl: Ashoka's wheel) is an Indian symbol which is a depiction of the dharmachakra (English: "wheel of dharma"). It is so-called because it appears on a number of edicts of Ashoka the Great, most prominent among which is ...

at the centre, while the others holding coloured powder dispensers, sprinkled the colours of the Indian flag on the field, in a similar fashion done in the festival of

Holi Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...

Parade of the athletes

The athletes of the 71 participating nations entered and paraded the stadium together as one big contingent, signifying the bonds and friendships formed during the Games.

Farewell to ''Shera''

The official mascot of the Games, Shera, was given a musical farewell as he went around the stadium in a vehicle accompanied by Shaan.

Ceremonial handover of the flag

The ceremonial handover of the Commonwealth Games flag segment began with the announcement by the chief minister of Delhi,

Sheila Dikshit Sheila Dikshit () (née Kapoor; 31 March 1938 – 20 July 2019) was an Indian politician. The longest-serving chief minister of Delhi, as well as the longest-serving female chief minister in Indian history, she served for a period of 15 year ...

, saying, "In a few moments, the ceremonial flag will be entrusted to your care so that in due time you deliver it to Glasgow." It was followed by the acceptance of the official representative of the 2014 Commonwealth Games host city,

Robert Winter Dr. Robert W. Winter (July 17, 1924 - February 9, 2019) was an architectural historian. He was the Arthur G. Coons Professor of the History of Ideas, Emeritus, at Occidental College, Los Angeles. He is particularly known for his contributions ...

, the Lord Provost of Glasgow, who replied, "This duty I willingly undertake to fulfill." Next, the Games flag was lowered with an Army band in the background. The chairman of the organising committee, Suresh Kalmadi received the flag and handed it over to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Tejinder Khanna. He in turn handed over it to Robert Winter. The Flag finally passed to the Lord Smith of Kelvin. He called upon the Commonwealth nations to visit Glasgow in 2014.

Glasgow 2014

First a short video showcasing Scotland's landscapes, people, architecture and culture was played. Next, 352 performers from Scotland performed in a 10-minute segment displaying Scottish culture. The performance began with a lone piper dressed in the Scottish traditional dress but soon a giant structure was inflated and a scene of the

Clyde Auditorium The SEC Armadillo (originally known as the Clyde Auditorium) is an auditorium located near the River Clyde, in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of three venues on the Scottish Event Campus, which includes the SEC Centre and the OVO Hydro. History ...

, popularly known as the ''Armadillo'', along with the Clyde Arc Bridge and the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

flowing below was depicted. The performance ended with the inflatable structure morphing into the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster (), known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protrud ...

and the cast then exited the stadium to the tune of

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" is a song written and performed by Scottish duo the Proclaimers, and first released in August 1988 by Chrysalis as the lead single from their second album, '' Sunshine on Leith'' (1988). The song reached number 11 in ...

The Proclaimers The Proclaimers are a Scottish Rock music, rock duo formed in 1983 by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid (born 5 March 1962). They came to attention with their 1987 single "Letter from America (song), Letter from America", which reached No. 3 ...

Closing events

Prince Edward, the vice-patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation, formally declared the 19th edition of the Commonwealth Games closed. Michael Fennell, the chairman of the

CGF CGF may refer to: * Carlingford railway station (station code), a defunct railway station in Sydney, Australia * Commonwealth Games Federation, an international sports organization * Consumer Goods Forum, a global organization of consumer goods com ...

presented the David Dixon award to

Trecia-Kaye Smith Trecia-Kaye Smith (born 5 November 1975 in Westmoreland, Jamaica) is a retired Jamaican athlete who competed mainly in the triple jump. Career In college, she competed for the University of Pittsburgh from 1996 to 1999 and was a seven-time NCA ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

who won a gold medal in the women's triple jump event.

''Universal Music of Love''

The 30-minute segment titled the ''Universal Music of Love'' comprised Sufi, folk, Indipop and world music performances. The performers include

Kailash Kher Kailash Kher (born 7 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, live performer, and composer. He sings songs with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music. He was inspired by the classical musicians Kumar Gandharva, Hrida ...

Taufiq Qureshi Ustad Taufiq Qureshi (born 1962) is an Indian classical musician. He is a percussionist and composer. Early life Born in Mumbai to the tabla player Alla Rakha. His eldest brother was a legendary tabla player, Zakir Hussain. He received guidanc ...

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh (born 18 July 1971) is an Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He sang " Jai Ho" in the film '' Slumdog Millionaire'', for which he won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Televisi ...

Shiamak Davar Shiamak Davar is an Indian choreographer, noted as one of the first to bring contemporary jazz and western forms of dance to India.Shubha Mudgal Shubha Mudgal (born 1 January 1959) is an Indian singer, and composer, known for her works in Hindustani classical music, Indian pop, and Tamil cinema. Her repertoire includes the genres of khyal, thumri, and dadra. She has received the Padma S ...

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate (''honoris causa'' degree) by Birmingham Ci ...

Ila Arun Ila Arun is an Indian actress, TV personality and Rajasthani folk-pop singer known for her works in Hindi cinema, and Indian pop. She has appeared in many prominent Bollywood films such as '' Lamhe'', ''Jodhaa Akbar'', '' Shaadi Ke Side Effe ...

, Shaan,

Sunidhi Chauhan Sunidhi Chauhan (pronounced ; born Nidhi Chauhan, 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer. Known for her Bold vocal range, she has recorded songs for films in several Indian languages and List of awards and nominations received by Sunidhi ...

Usha Uthup Usha Iyer Uthup (born 8 November 1947) is an Indian singer known for her deep contralto voice and her versatility across genres and languages. A prominent figure in Indian music since the 1970s, she has received a Filmfare Award, and was honoure ...

and

Sreeram ''Shriraam'' is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language action masala film directed by V. N. Aditya and produced by Burugapally Siva Rama Krishna. It stars Uday Kiran, Anita, and Ashish Vidyarthi in lead roles. Music was composed by R. P. Patnaik. It ...

. About 1000 dancers also performed in this segment.

Gallery

File:The artistes performing, at the closing ceremony of XIX Commonwealth Games-2010 Delhi, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in New Delhi on October 14, 2010.jpg, Singers' performances at the closing ceremony File:A magnificent view of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium during the closing ceremony of XIX Commonwealth Games-2010 Delhi, in New Delhi on October 14, 2010.jpg, Singers' performances at the closing ceremony (Aerostat showcases Indian culture) File:The artistes performing, at the closing ceremony of XIX Commonwealth Games-2010 Delhi, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in New Delhi on October 14, 2010 (2).jpg, Singers' performances at the closing ceremony File:Laser Show on display, at the closing ceremony of XIX Commonwealth Games-2010 Delhi, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in New Delhi on October 14, 2010.jpg, Laser light show at the closing ceremony File:Bollywood artistes Taufique Qureshi and Sunny Sarid performing at the closing ceremony of XIX Commonwealth Games-2010 Delhi, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in New Delhi on October 14, 2010.jpg, "Utho Jiyo Badho Jeeto", official song of the Games played at the closing ceremony File:Bollywood Singers Kailash Kher, Sreeram, Shubha Mudgal, Anandan Sivamani, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shiamak Davar, Usha Uthup, Shankar Mahadevan, Ila Arun and Raghav Sachar perform.jpg, One Love song performed by the Indian singers

Dignitaries in attendance

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of K ...

- Vice Patron of the

Commonwealth Games Federation The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is the governing body ...

* Michael Fennell - President of the

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

- Prime Minister of India *

Hamid Ansari Hamid refers to two different but related Arabic given names, both of which come from the Arabic triconsonantal root of Ḥ-M-D (): # (Arabic: ''ḥāmed'') also spelled Haamed, Hamid or Hamed, and in Turkish Hamit; it means "lauder" or "one ...

- Vice-President of India *

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi (, ; ; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, a big-tent liberal political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independence history. ...

- Chairperson of

United Progressive Alliance The United Progressive Alliance (UPA; Hindi: Saṁyukta Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a Political group, political alliance in India led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election, 2004 general ele ...

- Chief Minister of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Tejendra Khanna Tejendra Khanna (born 16 December 1938) is the former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi twice, from January 1997 to April 1998 and again from April 2007 - July 2013. He also served as Chancellor of Delhi Technological University, Indraprastha In ...

- Lieutenant Governor of Delhi *

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...

- First Minister of

- Lord Provost of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

- President of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

References

External links

Closing ceremony images
at the officia
site
{{Portal bar, Sports, India Closing Ceremony, 2010 Commonwealth Games Ceremonies in India Commonwealth Games closing ceremonies