2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester , England from 25th July to 4th August 2002 . The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi - sport event ever to be held in England , eclipsing London ' s 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating but was itself overtaken by the 2012 London Olympics . The Games formed the catalyst for the widespread regeneration and development of Manchester , and bolstered its reputation as a European and world city . Events were held across Greater Manchester . The opening and closing ceremonies , the athletic and the rugby sevens events were held at the City of Manchester Stadium , which was purpose built for the Games . Unusually for a large multi - sport event ; the second largest competition by number of countries and athletes participating ; the shooting events were held in the National Shooting Centre in Bisley , Surrey , some 200 miles from the main focus of the Games in Manchester . Seventy - two nations competed in fourteen individual sports and three team sports events . The Queen ended eleven days of competition at a rain - drenched closing ceremony in the City of Manchester Stadium . She declared the Games closed in front of a 38 , 000 sell - out crowd gathered in the stadium . She also called on the athletes to assemble again in four years ' time in Melbourne and to continue displaying the " friendship " they had shown in Manchester . The ceremony , attended by Prime Minister Tony Blair and several other dignitaries , took place in pouring rain and like the opening ceremony , mixed " pomp with pop " . Australian Ian Thorpe , the star of the Games with his six swimming golds , carried his national flag into the arena , along with athletes from each of the other competing countries . Around 40 , 000 balloons were released into the rainy Manchester sky as the ceremony concluded with a spectacular fireworks display . Closing ceremony highlights included : The Commonwealth Games were recognised in " Coronation Street " when Norris Cole applied for and was accepted as a volunteer to help out . While his dreams of getting to help out during the events were dashed when he was placed at the entrance punching tickets , he nonetheless set about his work . Things took a sudden turn for the better when Norris learned that the person assigned to deliver a gold medal to the podium had fallen ill and ( having brought a suit in case such a thing happened ) , persuaded the organiser to allow him to fill in . After making a hurried call to Emily Bishop asking her to record the proceedings , Norris soon found himself in the stadium where he was awed by the sheer spectacle . As he proudly delivered the medal and watched events , his face was broadcast on international TV . . . however luck was not on Norris ' s side as while the TV in the Rovers was switched on not one set of eyes was on it with the regulars having become engrossed in a darts match while the VCR in No . 3 ran out of tape seconds before Norris appeared . As a result , he got none of the glory he was expecting upon his return to the Street although he was cheered up when Nick Tilsley ( the only person in the Street who did see what happened ) congratulated him on his achievement before leaving for Canada .