Organisers had feared mass indifference to the world's most irrelevant sporting spectacular but now anticipate record figures based on the treacherous state of the multi-hundred pound facilities.
Some of the best action is expected to be in the velodrome, which was completed in a personal best of just under two hours by a gang of Filipino crack addicts and is really just of a lot of old magazines piled precariously on top of each other.
Big ticket athletes have pulled out of the Commonwealth Games, Scotland has delayed its departure to New Delhi and the New Zealand swimming team is seeking a "Plan B" should India's showcase event be cancelled. Skip related content
Instead, the Games have already descended into farce with some countries giving an ultimatum of a few days to get the Games ready or face the prospect of national withdrawals from an event which is so far only showcasing Indian traveller-tale cliches of filth, chaos and corruption.
A portion of false ceiling in the weightlifting venue caved in today, a day after the collapse of a footbridge by the main stadium, injuring 27 workers, which highlighted problems facing organisers as they race to complete work.
Nobody was injured at the weightlifting venue.
There have been reports of stray dogs, stagnant water, workers urinating in public, and human faeces being found at the unfinished village where the athletes will live.
Stagnant pools of water, breeding grounds for dengue mosquitoes, lie around and a Reuters reporter said homeless people were living outside the main stadium.
An epidemic of Dengue, in part blamed on stagnant water around unfinished construction sites, has hit Delhi and thousands of people are being treated in hospital.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said "Given that about 80 people die in India whenever someone opens a cupboard, if they can keep the Commonwealth Games death toll to under 3000 it should be regarded as an unqualified success."
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