Speech at Commonwealth Games reception

I am not going to make a formal speech or to propose a toast.

But I wish to welcome you all to 10 Downing Street to this reception in honour of the thirteenth Commonwealth Games. I shall be visiting Edinburgh for the Games on 1 August.

I am looking forward to this occasion immensely.

I hope to see some first class sport [end p1] including the end of the marathon.

I hope to visit the Games Village and meet a good number of athletes.

If time allows I shall look in on one of the many events associated with the Commonwealth Cultural Festival.

The scope of these 4-yearly gatherings is astonishingly broad.

In 1986, as in previous years, a major [end p2] cultural festival and a major conference on health and sport will be associated with the Games.

The Duke of Edinburgh, as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, will preside over the Games themselves.

Princess Anne has agreed to be Patron of the International Conference.

The Queen will be in residence at Holyrood Palace throughout the period. [end p3]

She will attend many of the competitions and preside, as she always does, over the closing ceremony whose spontaneity and warmth are so widely acknowledged.

Edinburgh will be in continual festival throughout the summer.

An enormous number of people are working to make a success of the event.

I am glad that so many of you have joined [end p4] me this evening.

Most of the organising effort is entirely voluntary.

The enthusiasm this represents is formidable.

In a few months this enthusiasm will echo round the whole world.

Over a billion people are expected to follow the Games on television or the radio. [end p5]

This interest will not be confined to the Commonwealth.

The presence at the Games of many leading world athletes will see to that.

At the same time a quite distinctive Commonwealth contribution will be made.

Excellence will be on show.

So will fair play, a tradition which is very much part of the Commonwealth approach. [end p6]

These ideals will inspire sportsmen all over the world and young people in particular.

The importance of the Games to the Commonwealth is no doubt also obvious.

The Games themselves and the events associated with them will bring together people with a great diversity of interest.

Old friendships will be renewed and new [end p7] friendships formed.

The Commonwealth will be on view and the Commonwealth will get the credit.

Once again however interest will go much wider.

The Health and Sport Conference, for example, will probably include delegates from Eastern Europe and certainly from non-Commonwealth countries even further afield. [end p8]

One again the Commonwealth will provide a source of tremendous inspiration and hope. Once again we can expect young people in particular to benefit.

The organisers have taken on a tough challenge and I am confident they will meet it.

Do please use this reception to work with friends and colleagues for the success of the Thirteenth Commonwealth Games. [end p9]

Do please also enjoy yourselves in the process, in anticipation of the enjoyment we can all expect in Edinburgh this summer.

I look forward to meeting you again in Edinburgh.