Manchester Schoolchildren Welcome Athletes to the Commonwealth Games

Seven Manchester primary schools have been chosen to perform the official welcome song "The Mancunian Way" at special ceremonies for the 72 nations arriving for this year's Commonwealth Games.

And two of the schools have been given the honour of welcoming the England team - St Chrysostoms C of E Primary in Chorlton-on-Medlock and Birchfields Primary School in Fallowfield.

The children will play a key role greeting competitors at Welcoming Ceremonies for the teams when they arrive at the athletes' village in Fallowfield.

They are among nearly 1,000 pupils from schools across the North West who will perform "The Mancunian Way", written especially for the Games by musician Chris Turner.

Each school - one from each of the 22 local authorities in the North West plus six additional Manchester schools - will interpret the song in their own unique way.

The ceremonies, which will involve up to four countries at a time, will take place three times a day between July 16-24 - but no two will be the same.

The children will perform in styles ranging from rap and soul to samba, steel band and traditional choir music.

During the ceremonies, the teams will also be formally welcomed by the Village Mayor, given a small gift and their flag will be hoisted while the national anthem is played.

Sue Woodward, Creative Director of Manchester 2002, said: "We're asking each school to perform their own interpretation of "The Mancunian Way" to provide variety and colour to the ceremonies.

"We're sure that the children will have lots of fun being part of these events and they will give our visiting teams a warm welcome."

Composer Chris, from Rhyl, North Wales, said: "It's absolutely marvellous that "The Mancunian Way "is being used in such a prestigious event - I'm thrilled, it's a dream come true."

The seven schools are St John Fisher & St Thomas More RC Primary, Benchill, Wythenshawe, St Brigid's RC Primary, Beswick, Chorlton Park County Primary, Chorlton, St Catherine's RC Primary, Didsbury, Crowcroft Park Primary, Longsight, Birchfields Primary, Fallowfield and St Chrysostoms C of E Primary, Chorlton-on-Medlock

Notes to Editors

" The centre piece of the Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations is the XVII Commonwealth Games to be held in Manchester from July 25-August 4. Heralding in the Games will be the Queen's Golden Jubilee Baton Relay - the longest relay ever and the Spirit of Friendship Festival - the most ambitious, multi-cultural festival linked to a sporting event ever staged in the UK.

" Organised by M2002 Limited, The Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games will host more than 5,000 athletes and officials, including elite athletes with a disability, coaches and officials from 72 nations across 17 different sports.

" The XVII Commonwealth Games are the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK. They are funded by Manchester City Council, the Government and Sport England, which has invested £170 million of lottery funding for sports facilities, which will be used by the people of Greater Manchester for generations to come.

" Sport England is the country's leading sports development agency and is responsible for the distribution of lottery funds to sport in England. Sport England has made a significant investment to help Manchester host the Commonwealth Games. To date, £135 million of lottery investment has been allocated to provide world-class facilities for use during the Games whilst leaving a lasting legacy for the community. In addition to this, Sport England is also providing an extra £30 million for revenue support.

" Manchester City Council successfully bid for the XVll Commonwealth Games to boost jobs and living standards of Manchester people by:
- creating a superb range of sporting venues for local communities and elite athletes
- training local people in a range of skills to equip them for future
jobs
- pump-priming the economic regeneration of the city, attracting jobs,
businesses and families to Manchester.

" Official Sponsors of the Games are: Manchester Airport, Adecco, Guardian Media Group, Microsoft, Cadbury, ASDA, Imperial Leather, Addleshaw Booth & Co and Bupa.

" Official Partners of the Games: United Utilities, Bruntwood, Xerox, Guilbert, Claremont, First and Boddingtons.

" The BBC is the Commonwealth Games Host Broadcaster for worldwide TV coverage. As the UK rights holder, BBC will produce 200 hours of live coverage across BBC ONE and BBC TWO. Further coverage will be via Radio 5 Live and the BBC SPORT website.