Stage set for games

MANCHESTER, England - You can tell in Manchester that the Commonwealth Games are imminent. The baton arrives in the city after its worldwide journey on Wednesday and there is even the threat of the sun coming out. The 17th staging of what have become known as “the friendly games” begins on Thursday with the opening ceremony at the City of Manchester Stadium. After that, it will be ten days of continuous action in 17 sports, with the 5,650 competitors and officials making it the biggest Commonwealth Games ever and the biggest multi-sports event ever held in Britain. Unusually, the games will start with the high-profile athletics events, featuring stars of the magnitude of Cathy Freeman, the Olympic 400 metre champion and the leading light of the Sydney games. When the spotlight turns to the swimming, another Australian, Ian Thorpe —The Thorpedo — also has the potential to emerge as the games’ outstanding individual. If the third southern hemisphere giant to feature heavily in the advance promotion, the All Blacks’ Jonah Lomu, has failed to win a place in the New Zealand Rugby Sevens squad, that will come as a relief to those who would have had to tackle him — until they reflect on how strong the Kiwis must be.AFPEnds