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Chairman of Manchester 2002, Charles Allen, addressed media and athletes in London and reflected on the objectives laid down when Manchester was awarded the Games in 1995.

He said: "To be an international sporting event of world status you need the best facilities and the best competitors.

"With the new City of Manchester Stadium, the unique Manchester Aquatics Centre, the new Indoor Tennis and Squash Centres, new Hockey Centre and upgraded facilities which already host world class events, we have a mix of the very highest standards of new and existing venues that will attract the world's best athletes."

Mr Allen said the squash, netball and bowls events would be equivalent to world championships, while hockey and rugby 7's would draw the very best teams from the Commonwealth.

He expected to see many world record holders and Olympic medallists like Denise Lewis and Ian Thorpe and many more of the 88 medallists in Sydney who were from Commonwealth countries.

Mr Allen added: "One of the primary reasons why Manchester bid for the Games was, and remains, a firm belief that sports can play a pivotal role in the social and economic regeneration.

"With more than ?145m in new sporting facilities - all of which have a long term community and elite use after the 2002 Games - and an estimated further
?200 m of private sector investment, East Manchester with its new sport complex, will be transformed from one of the most deprived areas in the country to a thriving, vibrant community with world class sporting facilities, retail, leisure and new housing.

"This, combined with up to 5000 projected new jobs, a new focus on Manchester and the region which will further stimulate tourism, new trade links built across the
Commonwealth and a surge of civic pride will mean that the legacy of the Games will last well into the next decade and beyond."