The 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, officially known as the VII Commonwealth Youth Games and informally as Trinbago 2023, was a youth sporting event for members of the Commonwealth that was held in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. They were the seventh edition of the

Commonwealth Youth Games The Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) is an international multi-sport event organized by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The games were held in the years, mid-way between when the Commonwealth Games are held, until 2008. They continued to be held ...

. The games were initially scheduled between 1 and 7 August 2021 but were postponed and held from 4 to 11 August 2023 as a result of the global

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and scheduling issues with the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

and the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

. The 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games were the first to be held since the

death of Queen Elizabeth II On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...

and the accession of

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

Head of the Commonwealth The head of the Commonwealth is the ceremonial leader who symbolises "the free association of independent member nations" of the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation that currently comprises 56 sovereign states. There is ...

and the reigning monarch of the

Commonwealth Realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonweal ...

on 8 September 2022. They were also the first to be held in the Caribbean, and the first to include para-sports.

Host selection

The 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games went through three extensive host selections.

First selection

Accepted bid

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

With the backing of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Commonwealth Games Council for Northern Ireland, Belfast submitted an official bid for the games. On 29 November 2015, it was confirmed that Northern Ireland was the only official, and thus the preferred, bid. They were named the official hosts in January 2016, with the Games originally scheduled for 27 July to 1 August 2021. Robert McVeigh, the Chair of the

Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council Northern Ireland has competed in nineteen of the twenty-one Commonwealth Games beginning with the second games, held in 1934. Northern Ireland did not compete in 1930 (when there was a single team from Ireland) and in 1950. It differs from the Oly ...

, said he was "delighted" that the bid was successful. In June 2018, Belfast was stripped of the Games due to uncertainty surrounding funding for the event during the absence of a functioning

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...

. This was as £3 million of grants had not been signed off by the Executive before it collapsed in January 2017, meaning the Games had a significant funding gap.

Withdrawn bids

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

The Botswana National Olympic Committee stated it was preparing a bid for the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games. *

Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

Jersey was considering a bid in early 2015 but pulled out of the bidding process in June 2015. The withdrawal came as Botswana and Northern Ireland placed bids - Paul du Feu, Jersey's

Commonwealth Games Association A Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) is a national sports council of the Commonwealth Sports movement. Each association is responsible for organising, supporting and overseeing their national team for both the Commonwealth Games and the Commonw ...

leader commented that "when you're up against opposition with a bigger population and totally different infrastructure you have to be realistic".

Second selection

Following the stripping of the games from Belfast, a new selection process has been initiated, which lasted for six months. Trinidad and Tobago was announced as new host on 21 June 2019.

Accepted second bid

Other bids

* Gibraltar City,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Third selection

Following the postponement, Trinidad and Tobago were elected host of the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England at the Commonwealth Games Federation general assembly.

Accepted third bid

Postponement

Since the spread of the

, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were moved to 2021 during the original dates of the Commonwealth Youth Games, the CGF considered the best alternative options and time frames for holding the event in the future, potentially in 2023, to avoid clashing with the

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

, with Trinidad and Tobago having the first option to hold the event. On 26 July 2022, it was announced that the 7th Commonwealth Youth Games will be held in 2023 in Trinidad and Tobago.

Marketing

Mascot

On March 16, 2023, the Minister of Sport and Community Development, Shamfa Cudjoe, revealed the games' mascot, Cocoyea, a

Leatherback sea turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weight ...

. The mascot was designed by Djibril Annisette, who won a design competition that was run for children.

Participation

68 of the 74

s participated in the games. Maldives, Norfolk Island, Sierra Leone did not compete, along with Gabon and Togo, new members of the Commonwealth. Gambia was scheduled to compete but withdrew due to not getting visas in time.

Ceremonies

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony took place on 4 August 2023 in

Hasely Crawford Stadium The Hasely Crawford Stadium, formerly the National Stadium, is located in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It was inaugurated and formally opened by Prime Minister George Chambers on 12 June 1982. On 30 December 1996, Prime Minister Basdeo ...

in Port of Spain,

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. It was themed as a

Trinidad and Tobago carnival The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are numerous cultural e ...

. The traditional parade of nations was led by the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

(as the host of the previous games), followed by the rest of the nations from the Americas. Following this, nations entered by region in order from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and lastly the Caribbean. The host nation,

, entered last. Each nation was preceded by a placard bearer carrying a circular board containing the respective nation's flag. The games were opened by President

Christine Kangaloo Christine Kangaloo is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and the current President of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago. She is the only person to serve as both President and Vice President of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago, the first woman to s ...

and were attended by

Commonwealth Games Federation The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is governing body of the ...

President Louise Martin, Prime Minister

Keith Rowley Keith Christopher Rowley (born 24 October 1949) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician serving as the seventh prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, first elected into office on 9 September 2015 and again following the 2020 general elect ...

, and his wife. A smaller ceremony was held in

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

the same day.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony took place on 11 August 2023 in Pigeon Point, Tobago. In addition to the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony was also carnival themed.https://www.trinbago2023.com/news/3626601/trinbago-2023-closes-with-carnival-style-beach-ceremony

The Games

A total of 93 events over seven sports was contested.

Calendar

Medal table

Source:

Venues

References

External links

2023 Commonwealth Youth Games
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TTCGA on TwitterTTNOC on Twitter
{{Commonwealth Youth Games years 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

International sports competitions hosted by Trinidad and Tobago August 2023 sports events in North America Sport in Port of Spain