16th Commonwaelath Games

Commonwealth Games Logo 16th Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games Mascot

Commonwealth Games - from promoting good sportsmanship and cross-cultural understanding to meeting aspiration of Vision 2020 :

The Commonwealth Games are held by member countries, comprising 68 nations around the world. Since the first Games in 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Games have been held every four years except when they were suspended during World War 2. In 1998, for the first time in the history of the Commonwealth, the Games will be held in an Asian member nation - MALAYSIA.
21st July 1992 was a day of national pride and world recognition for Malaysia. On this day in Barcelona, Spain, Malaysia won the bid to host the XVI Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.
Our country's impressive track record in successfully organizing world class sports championship was instrumental in the selection of Kuala Lumpur as the host city.
Entrusted with the mission to organize the Kuala Lumpur 98 Games efficiently in terms of operations and financial viability is SUKOM NINETY EIGHT BERHAD. Formed in June 1992, the company derived its name from the combination of two words in Malaysia's official language: Sukan (Sports) and Komanwel (Commonwealth) - SUKOM.
With the first of four years of preparations already under way, Malaysians in both public and private sectors are working together with Sukom to prove to the world that Malaysia has the ability to stage the best ever Commonwealth Games. This resounding success will mark an important milestone in our country's march towards Vision 2020.

A distinctive logo chosen by the Malaysian public :

21st July 1993 marked the first anniversary of the day when Malaysia made history in winning the right to host the XVI Commonwealth Games. On this anniversary date, the refined bid logo together with the best five designs, shortlist from 41 entries, were presented to the public at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.
Since Kuala Lumpur 98 is an event of great significance to Malaysians throughout the country, the public were invited to choose their favourite logo. The response was overwhelming, with the majority voting for the refined bid logo.
The officially adopted Games logo draws its inspiration from Malaysia's national flower - the hibiscus or bunga raya. Flowers are a universal symbol of welcome, which is in keeping with the spirit of the Friendly Games concept of the Commonwealth Games. The hibiscus is stylized to represent CG and 98.
The rich burst of Malaysia's national colours - red, yellow and blue - is a striking modern portrait of a confident, young, vibrant nation. The six pollen depict the six regions over which the Commonwealth extends.
This is the first time in the history of the Commonwealth Games logos that the colour yellow is incorporated besides the traditional colours red, white and blue of the British flag - the Union Jack.

A friendly mascot to welcome visitors to Kuala Lumpur 98 :

The official mascot for Kuala Lumpur 98 - XVI Commonwealth Games, WIRA the orang Utan, was unveiled to the public by our Prime Minister Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Merdeka Square on 12th April 1994.
The orang utan was chosen as the Games' Mascot because of its special significance to Malaysia - the host country. It's the only large and intelligent primate with a Malay name that is recognized worldwide. Literally translated, orang utan means "Man of the Forest"
Wira, our official mascot, is characterized by the friendly and lovable nature of the orang utan. Wira is a symbol of the warmth and friendliness of Malaysians.

The 14 sport events as below :

The 68 participate countries as below :

Africa (18 countries)

AMERICA (6 countries)


Belize	Bermuda	Canada	Falkland Islands	Guyana	St. Helena

ASIA (8 countries)

CARIBBEAN (15 countries)

EUROPE (10 countries)

OCEANIA (11 countries)

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