The 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, officially known as the VII Commonwealth Youth Games and informally as Trinbago 2023, were a youth sporting event for members of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

that was held in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. They were the seventh edition of the

Commonwealth Youth Games The Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) is an international multi-sport event organized by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The games were held in the years, mid-way between when the Commonwealth Games are held, until 2008. They continued to be he ...

. The games were initially scheduled between 1 and 7 August 2021 but were postponed and held from 4 to 11 August 2023 as a result of the global

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and scheduling issues with the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

and the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

. The 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games were the first to be held since the

death of Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, died on 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. Elizabeth's reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch. She was ...

and the accession of

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

Head of the Commonwealth The Head of the Commonwealth is the ceremonial leader who symbolises "the free association of independent member nations" of the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation that currently comprises 56 sovereign states. There is ...

and the reigning monarch of the

Commonwealth Realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the ...

on 8 September 2022. They were also the first to be held in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and the first to include para-sports.

Host selection

The 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games went through three extensive host selections.

First selection

Accepted bid

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

With the backing of the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

and the Commonwealth Games Council for Northern Ireland, Belfast submitted an official bid for the games. On 29 November 2015, it was confirmed that Northern Ireland was the only official, and thus the preferred, bid. They were named the official hosts in January 2016, with the Games originally scheduled for 27 July to 1 August 2021. Robert McVeigh, the Chair of the

Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council Northern Ireland has competed in nineteen of the twenty-one Commonwealth Games beginning with the second games, held in 1934. Northern Ireland did not compete in 1930 (when there was a single team from Ireland) and in 1950. It differs from the Oly ...

, said he was "delighted" that the bid was successful. In June 2018, Belfast was stripped of the Games due to uncertainty surrounding funding for the event during the absence of a functioning

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...

. This was as £3 million of grants had not been signed off by the Executive before it collapsed in January 2017, meaning the Games had a significant funding gap.

Withdrawn bids

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

The Botswana National Olympic Committee stated it was preparing a bid for the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games, but later withdrew from consideration. *

Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

Jersey was considering a bid in early 2015 but pulled out of the bidding process in June 2015. The withdrawal came as Botswana and Northern Ireland placed bids - Paul du Feu, Jersey's

Commonwealth Games Association A Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) is a national sports council of the Commonwealth Sports movement. Each association is responsible for organising, supporting and overseeing their national team for both the Commonwealth Games and the Commonw ...

leader commented that "when you're up against opposition with a bigger population and totally different infrastructure you have to be realistic".

Second selection

Following the stripping of the games from Belfast, a new selection process has been initiated, which lasted for six months. Trinidad and Tobago was announced as new host on 21 June 2019.

Accepted second bid

Other bids

* Gibraltar City,

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

Third selection

Following the postponement, Trinidad and Tobago were elected host of the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England at the Commonwealth Games Federation general assembly.

Accepted third bid

Postponement

Since the spread of the

, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were moved to 2021 during the original dates of the Commonwealth Youth Games, the CGF considered the best alternative options and time frames for holding the event in the future, potentially in 2023, to avoid clashing with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, with Trinidad and Tobago having the first option to hold the event. On 26 July 2022, it was announced that the 7th Commonwealth Youth Games will be held in 2023 in Trinidad and Tobago.

Marketing

Mascot

On 16 March 2023, the Minister of Sport and Community Development, Shamfa Cudjoe, revealed the games' mascot, Cocoyea, a Leatherback sea turtle. The mascot was designed by Djibril Annisette, who won a design competition that was run for children.

Participation

68 of the 72

s participated in the games. Maldives, Norfolk Island, Sierra Leone did not compete, along with Gabon and Togo, new members of the Commonwealth which had not yet joined the Commonwealth Games Federation. Gambia was scheduled to compete but withdrew due to not getting visas in time. *As confirmed by 1 August 2023.

Ceremonies

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony took place on 4 August 2023 in

Hasely Crawford Stadium The Hasely Crawford Stadium, formerly the National Stadium, is located in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It was inaugurated and formally opened by Prime Minister George Chambers on 12 June 1982. On 30 December 1996, Prime Minister Basdeo P ...

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. It was themed as a

Trinidad and Tobago carnival The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are numerous cultural ev ...

. The traditional parade of nations was led by the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

(as the host of the previous games), followed by the rest of the nations from the Americas. Following this, nations entered by region in order from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and lastly the Caribbean. The host nation,

, entered last. Each nation was preceded by a placard bearer carrying a circular board containing the respective nation's flag. The games were opened by President

Christine Kangaloo Christine Carla Kangaloo (born 1 December 1961) is a Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidadian politician and lawyer, who has been the 7th president of Trinidad and Tobago since 2023. Biography Christine Kangaloo was born into a Presbyterian Church of ...

and were attended by

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 ...

President Louise Martin, Prime Minister

Keith Rowley Keith Christopher Rowley (born 24 October 1949) is a Trinidadian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 2015 to 2025. He was the leader the People's National Movement (PNM) from 2010 to 2025 and was ...

, and his wife. A smaller ceremony was held in

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

the same day.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony took place on 11 August 2023 in Pigeon Point, Tobago. In addition to the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony was also carnival themed.

The Games

A total of 93 events over seven sports was contested.

Calendar

Medal table

Source:

Venues

References

External links

2023 Commonwealth Youth Games
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TTCGA on TwitterTTNOC on Twitter
{{Commonwealth Games years 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

International sports competitions hosted by Trinidad and Tobago August 2023 sports events in North America Sport in Port of Spain