Wales Question Delhi 2010 Security
The management behind the Welsh Commonwealth Games team has become the first of the home nations to raise the possibility of not travelling to Delhi for the 2010 Games in the wake of last week’s terrorist attack in the sub-continent.
The Commonwealth Games Council for Wales will also fly to India if they can ensure their athletes are ‘150% safe’ after the recent terrorist attacks on cricketers in Pakistan.
Wales will send an estimated 150 athletes to the event in October 2010 and the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales wants evidence as much as reassurances that Delhi will be safe.
‘We have to be more than 100% sure that they are going to be safe,’ said council president Anne Ellis.
‘But we’ve received a letter from the Games committee chairman to say Delhi is taking security very seriously.’
‘Security is an obvious concern to anybody who is about to take a team abroad, particularly to that part of the world where we’ve seen some horrific incidents.
‘We have to worry about the security because it would be irresponsible of us in Wales to take anybody if didn’t think we could keep them safe during competition.
‘The Games committee are taking pre-Commonwealth precautions on the construction sites and there’s background checks of personnel being employed.
‘For the Games period, we’re told there will be comprehensive security at the venues and all over the city and security levels will be at their highest.
‘So I am somewhat reassured that they are taking it seriously. But these are words, we must get some sort of proof that this is going to happen.
‘We will have one or two reconnaissance missions and that will be crucial for us to make up our mind and make sure we are going to a safe place for our athletes so they can enjoy an experience of a lifetime.
‘We must make sure we do not put our athletes in a position where they might not be safe, we have to be 150% certain.’
The head of the Commonwealth Games has rejected suggestion that the 2010 showpiece should be switched from the Indian capital because of security fears in the region following the terror attack.
