With reference to Common Wealth Games Scheduled in 2022 and 2026, which of the following statements is/are correct ? 1. Common Wealth Games will be held in Birmingham (England) in July – August 2022. 2. Common Wealth Games will be held in Victoria (Australia) in 2026. Select the correct answer from the code given below : Code :
- (a)Both 1 and 2
- (b)Only 1
- (c)Neither 1 nor 2
- (d)Only 2
Correct — A, Both 1 and 2. Statement 1 is true: the XXII Commonwealth Games were awarded to Birmingham, England, and were held from 28 July to 8 August 2022 — that is, in the July–August window the statement names, about six weeks after this paper was written on 12 June 2022. Statement 2 was also true when the paper was set: the Commonwealth Games Federation had confirmed Victoria, Australia, as host of the 2026 Games in April 2022, before the exam, and the formal handover duly took place at Birmingham's closing ceremony on 8 August 2022. Both statements therefore stood as correct on exam day, and the answer is 'Both 1 and 2'. One honest note for a student reading this in 2026: Victoria withdrew from hosting in July 2023 on grounds of cost, and Glasgow was subsequently named to stage the 2026 Games instead. That does not change the answer here — the question asks about what was scheduled as of mid-2022 — but the present-day fact is worth carrying separately.
- (b)Only 1 — This accepts Birmingham and rejects Victoria. It would be the right answer today, but not for this paper: Victoria's selection was announced in April 2022, two months before the exam, and stood as the official position on the exam date. The withdrawal came only in July 2023. A prelims answer is judged against the record at the time the paper was set.
- (c)Neither 1 nor 2 — It rejects both, including the statement that is beyond dispute. Birmingham did host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, from 28 July to 8 August 2022, so statement 1 cannot be false on any reading.
- (d)Only 2 — The reverse mistake — it keeps the future award and discards the imminent, well-publicised event. Birmingham as the 2022 host was settled years in advance and was widely reported in the run-up to the exam.
The Commonwealth Games are a multi-sport event for the nations and territories of the Commonwealth, staged every four years under the Commonwealth Games Federation, which awards each edition to a host city several years ahead. Two things follow for an exam candidate. First, the host of the next edition and often the one after it are known facts, not predictions, and are examinable well before the Games take place. Second, an award can be reversed: a host city that finds the cost unmanageable can withdraw, and the Federation must then find a replacement — which is exactly what happened between this paper and today.
This is a current-affairs question with a date attached, and the discipline it teaches is to answer as of the exam. On 12 June 2022 a candidate had to know two things from the preceding months of news: that Birmingham was weeks away from opening the 2022 Games, and that Victoria had just been confirmed for 2026. Both were public and both were correct, so 'Both 1 and 2' follows. The trap for a candidate revising this paper in 2026 is the opposite one — knowing that Glasgow now holds the 2026 Games and marking 'Only 1'. Keep the two facts on separate shelves: the 2022-era answer for this question, and the current position for a question set today. Note also the option ordering in this paper: 'Only 1' sits at (b) and 'Only 2' at (d), with 'Both 1 and 2' at (a) and 'Neither 1 nor 2' at (c).
- The XXII Commonwealth Games were held in Birmingham, England, from 28 July to 8 August 2022.
- Victoria, Australia was confirmed as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games by the Commonwealth Games Federation in April 2022 — before this exam — and the handover took place at Birmingham's closing ceremony on 8 August 2022.
- Victoria withdrew from hosting in July 2023, citing escalating costs; Glasgow was subsequently named host of the 2026 Games. This is the position today, not the position the question asks about.
- The Games are held once every four years; the edition before Birmingham was Gold Coast, Australia, in 2018.
- India has hosted the Commonwealth Games once, at Delhi in 2010 (the XIX Games).
- Answering a dated current-affairs question from today's knowledge instead of from the exam-day record — the 2026 host has since changed
- Confusing the Commonwealth Games cycle with the Olympic cycle, or mixing up their host cities
- Assuming an awarded host city is final; awards can be and have been surrendered
Both commissions ask sporting mega-events as small factual pairs — host city, edition number, year, motto, newly added sports — usually in a two-statement or match-list frame. UPPSC in particular sets them from the twelve months before the paper, so read the year in the stem before you answer.
Consider the following statements in respect of the 32nd Summer Olympics: 1. The official motto for this Olympics is 'A New World'. 2. Sport Climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding, Karate and Baseball are included in this Olympics. Which of the above statements is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(b) 2 only
The same species of question at the national level — a multi-sport mega-event broken into two checkable statements about the edition, its motto and its programme. UPSC's trap is a motto borrowed from a different Games; UPPSC's is a host city that was correct then and is not now.
Which one of the following is NOT correctly matched ? (Name of Player) — (Medal Won in Tokyo Olympic 2020)
- (a) P. V. Sindhu — Bronze Medal
- (b) Bajrang Punia — Silver Medal
- (c) Mirabai Chanu — Silver Medal
- (d) Neeraj Chopra — Gold Medal
Answer(b) Bajrang Punia — Silver Medal
UPPSC's other favourite way into a sporting mega-event: instead of hosts and dates, the medal table of the most recent Games. Together the two show the range you need for this area — where the event is held, when, and who won what.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, the XXII edition, were hosted by which city?
- (a)Gold Coast
- (b)Birmingham
- (c)Glasgow
- (d)Durban
Answer(b) Birmingham — Gold Coast hosted in 2018 and Glasgow in 2014; Durban was awarded the 2022 Games originally but lost them, after which Birmingham was selected.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following statements about India and the Commonwealth Games is correct?
- (a)India has never hosted the Commonwealth Games
- (b)India hosted the Commonwealth Games at Delhi in 2010
- (c)India hosted the Commonwealth Games at Mumbai in 2006
- (d)India is scheduled to host the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 2026
Answer(b) India hosted the Commonwealth Games at Delhi in 2010, the XIX edition — its only time as host so far.