Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games Federation

Seal of the Commonwealth Games Federation Commonwealth Games Federation Flag
Abbreviation	CG
Motto	Humanity—Equality—Destiny
First event	1930
Headquarters	London, England
President	HRH Prince Tunku Imran
Website	www.thecgf.com

The Commonwealth Games (known as the British Empire Games from 1930–1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954–1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970–1974)^[1] is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, which were cancelled due to World War II, has taken place every four years since then.

The games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which also controls the sporting programme and selects the host cities. A host city is selected for each edition. 18 cities in seven countries have hosted the event. Apart from many Olympic sports, the games also include some sports that are played predominantly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls and netball.^[2]

Although there are 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 71 teams participate in the Commonwealth Games, as a number of dependent territories compete under their own flags. The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom—England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—also send separate teams. Only six countries have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. Australia has been the highest achieving team for twelve games, England for seven, and Canada for one.

History of the Games

A sporting competition bringing together the members of the British Empire was first proposed by John Astley Cooper in 1891, when he wrote an article in The Times suggesting a "Pan-Britannic-Pan-Anglican Contest and Festival every four years as a means of increasing goodwill and good understanding of the British Empire". The John Astley Cooper Committees worldwide (e.g. Australia) helped Pierre de Coubertin to get his international Olympic Games off the ground.^[3] In 1911, the Festival of the Empire was held at The Crystal Palace in London to celebrate the coronation of Queen Of Mary → George V

The 2nd Empire Games

Opening ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games at Brisbane, Australia

The 1934 British Empire Games were the second of what became known as the Commonwealth Games. They were held from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was mainly London, although the track cycling events took place in the North of England. As part of the festival, an Inter-Empire Championships was held in which teams from Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom competed in events such as boxing, wrestling, swimming. In 1928, Melville Marks Robinson of Canada was asked to organise the first British Empire Games; these were held in 1930, in Hamilton, Ontario,^[1] and women competed in the swimming events only.^[4] From 1934, women also competed in some athletics events.

The 1934 Games had originally been awarded to Johannesburg, but were given to London instead because of the potential for prejudiced treatment of black and Asian athletes in South Africa. 17 national teams took part, including the Irish Free State (the only Games in which they did take part).

Only six sports were featured in these particular Games. Athletics took place at White City and three sports (boxing, wrestling, and aquatics – incorporating both swimming and diving) took place at Wembley, at the well established venue of the Empire Pool in Wembley Park, which later became Wembley Arena. Britain was ultimately successful in six out of the eight medal events in boxing, and won three out of four golds in the diving. The home team also secured five of the available seven silver medals for wrestling.

The first Commonwealth Paraplegic Games were held alongside the Commonwealth Games from 1962 to 1974.^[5] Athletes with a disability were then first included in exhibition events at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia,^[6] and, at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, they were included as full members of their national teams, making them the first fully inclusive international multi-sport games. This meant that results were included in the medal count.^[7]

The Empire Games flag was donated in 1931 by the British Empire Games Association of Canada. The year and location of subsequent games were added until the 1950 games. The name of the event was changed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and the flag was retired as a result.

Editions of the Games

The first edition of the event was the 1930 British Empire Games in which 11 nations participated. The quadrennial schedule of the games was interrupted by the Second World War and the 1942 Games (set to be held in Montreal) and the 1946 Games were abandoned.^[8] The games were revived in 1950 and underwent a name change four years later with the first British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954.^[1] Over 1,000 athletes participated in the 1958 Games as over thirty teams took part for the first time.^[9]

The 1978 Games in Edmonton marked a new high as almost 1,500 athletes from 46 countries took part.^[9] They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest of New Zealand's sporting contacts with apartheid-era South Africa, as well as by Uganda, in protest of alleged Canadian hostility towards the government of Idi Amin.^[10] Participation at the 1986 Games was affected by a boycott by 32 African, Asian and Caribbean nations in protest of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's refusal to condemn sporting contacts of Apartheid era South Africa in 1985, but the Games rebounded and continued to grow thereafter. The 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia saw the sporting programme grow from 10 to 15 sports as team sports were allowed for the first time.^[1] Participation also reached new levels as over 3500 athletes represented 70 teams at the event. At the Games in Melbourne in 2006, over 4000 athletes took part in sporting competitions.^[9]

The three nations to have hosted the games the most times are Australia (5), Canada (4) and New Zealand (3). Furthermore, six editions have taken place in the countries within the United Kingdom (Scotland 3, England 2 and Wales 1), twice in Asia (Malaysia 1 and India 1) and once in the Caribbean (Jamaica 1). Two cities have held the games on multiple occasions: Auckland (1950 and 1990), and Edinburgh (1970, 1986 and some events in 2014).

1911*, 1934

1938

1930

1950, 1990

1954

1958

1962

1966

1970, 1986

1974

1978

1982

1994

1998

2002 

2006

2010

2014

2018

2022

Host cities of Commonwealth Games

Edition	Year	Host City	Host Nation	Start Date	End Date	Sports	Events	Nations	Competitors	Top Placed Team
Inter-Empire Championships
*	1911	London	United Kingdom	12 May	1 June	4	9	4	Unknown	Canada
British Empire Games
I	1930	Hamilton	Canada	16 August	23 August	6	59	11	400	England
II	1934	London	England	4 August	11 August	6	68	16	500	England
III	1938	Sydney	Australia	5 February	12 February	7	71	15	464	Australia
IV	1950	Auckland	New Zealand	4 February	11 February	9	88	12	590	Australia
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
V	1954	Vancouver	Canada	30 July	7 August	9	91	24	662	England
VI	1958	Cardiff	Wales	18 July	26 July	9	94	36	1122	England
VII	1962	Perth	Australia	22 November	1 December	9	104	35	863	Australia
VIII	1966	Kingston	Jamaica	4 August	13 August	9	110	34	1050	England
British Commonwealth Games
IX	1970	Edinburgh	Scotland	16 July	25 July	9	121	42	1383	Australia
X	1974	Christchurch	New Zealand	24 January	2 February	9	121	38	1276	Australia
Commonwealth Games
XI	1978	Edmonton	Canada	3 August	12 August	10	128	46	1474	Canada
XII	1982	Brisbane	Australia	30 September	9 October	10	142	46	1583	Australia
XIII	1986	Edinburgh	Scotland	24 July	2 August	10	163	26	1662	England
XIV	1990	Auckland	New Zealand	24 January	3 February	10	204	55	2073	Australia
XV	1994	Victoria	Canada	18 August	28 August	10	217	63	2557	Australia
XVI	1998	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	11 September	21 September	152	213	70	3633	Australia
XVII	2002	Manchester	England	25 July	4 August	171	281	72	3679	Australia
XVIII	2006	Melbourne	Australia	15 March	26 March	162	245	71	4049	Australia
XIX	2010	Delhi	India	3 October	14 October	171	272	71	6081	Australia
XX	2014	Glasgow	Scotland	23 July	3 August	171	261	71	4947	England
XXI	2018	Gold Coast	Australia	4 April	15 April
XXII	2022	Durban	South Africa	18 July	31 July
XXIII	2026	TBA	TBA
XXIV	2030	TBA	TBA

Notes

¹Includes 3 team sports ²Includes 4 team sports

Total Games by host country

Place	Country	Continent	No. of times	Years hosted
1	Australia	Oceania	5	1938, 1962, 1982, 2006, 2018
2	Canada	Americas	4	1930, 1954, 1978, 1994
3	New Zealand	Oceania	3	1950, 1974, 1990
	Scotland**	Europe	3	1970, 1986, 2014
5	England**	Europe	2	(1911*), 1934, 2002
7	India	Asia	1	2010
	Malaysia	Asia	1	1998
	Jamaica	Americas	1	1966
	Wales**	Europe	1	1958
	South Africa	Africa	1	2022

• Record (*)

Notes

* The 1911 Inter-Empire Championships held in London is seen as a precursor to the modern Commonwealth Games, but is not normally considered an official edition of the Games themselves.^[11]

**The United Kingdom competes as its separate Home Nations, Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies and has held the games 6 times, 7 including the precursor 1911 Inter-Empire Championships in London.

Ceremonies

Opening

Opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games at Melbourne, Australia

The Commonwealth Games always starts with a grand opening ceremony. Various cultural and military shows are performed during the ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. The flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation, flag of the last hosting nation and the current hosting nation are hoisted during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. The 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi, India was considered to have the most grand opening ceremony in the history of any Commonwealth Games and it was highly compared with the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games at Beijing, China. The cost of the opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was around $77 million which was the second costliest opening ceremony of any international sporting event in the world after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The 70 Commonwealth nations are called continent wise to have the athletes parade at the stadium and the last hosting nation of the games enters the first. The president or the head of the hosting nation declares the opening of the games, however the opening of the 2002, 2006 and 2014 Commonwealth Games were declared by Queen Elizabeth II.

Closing

The closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games takes place after all sporting events have concluded. Flag-bearers from each participating country enter the stadium, followed by the athletes who enter together, without any national distinction. The president of the organizing committee and the CGF president make their closing speeches and the Games are officially closed. The David Dickson award for the best performance in the Commonwealth Games is presented to one athlete. The CGF president also speaks about the conduct of the games. The mayor of the city that organized the Games transfers the CGF flag to the president of the CGF, who then passes it on to the mayor of the city hosting the next Commonwealth Games. The next host nation then also briefly introduces itself with artistic displays of dance and theater representative of its culture. Many great artists and singers had performed at the ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games. For example: Kylie Minogue was the link between 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 Commonwealth Games and sang at the 2014 games closing.

Approved sports

Athletics of the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Hampden Park Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland

Netball at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi, India

Men's Rugby Sevens at Ibrox stadium during the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, Scotland

There are a total of 22 sports (with three multi-disciplinary sports) and a further seven para-sports which are approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation. They are categorised into three types. Core sports must be included on each programme. A number of optional sports may be picked by the host nation, which may include some team sports such as basketball. Recognised sports are sports which have been approved by the CGF but which are deemed to need expansion; host nations may not pick these sports for their programme until the CGF's requirements are fulfilled.^[12]

Participation

Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Australia has been the highest scoring team for twelve games, England for seven and Canada for one.

  Countries that have hosted, or plan to host, the event
  Other countries that enter the games
  Countries that have entered the games but no longer do so
0•0 Host cities and year of games

Table of Team Participation by Commonwealth Games Edition
Team Edition I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI Year 1930 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 Host Flag Host City Hamilton London Sydney Auckland Vancouver Cardiff Perth Kingston Edinburgh Christchurch Edmonton Brisbane Edinburgh Auckland Victoria Kuala Lumpur Manchester Melbourne Delhi Glasgow Gold Coast Participation \\ Host nation Canada England Australia New Zealand Canada Wales Australia Jamaica Scotland New Zealand Canada Australia Scotland New Zealand Canada Malaysia England Australia India Scotland Australia  Aden 1 1962 N/A  Anguilla 2 1998–  Antigua and Barbuda 1966–1970, 1978, 1994–  Australia 1930–  Bahamas 1954–1970, 1978–1982, 1990– N/A  Bangladesh 1978, 1990–  Barbados 1954–1982, 1990–  Belize 4 1978, 1994–  Bermuda 1930–1938, 1954–1982, 1990–  Botswana 1974, 1982–  British Guiana 3 1930–1938, 1954–1962  British Honduras 4 1962–1966  British Virgin Islands 1990–  Brunei Darussalam 1990–  Cameroon 1998–  Canada 1930–  Cayman Islands 1978–  Ceylon 5 1938–1950, 1958–1970  Cook Islands 1974–1978, 1986–  Cyprus 1978–1982, 1990–  Dominica 1958–1962, 1970, 1994–  England 1930–  Falkland Islands 1982–  Fiji 6 1938, 1954–1986, 1998–2006, 2014-  Gambia 7 1970–1982, 1990–2010  Ghana 8 1958–1982, 1990–  Gibraltar 1958–  Gold Coast 8 1954  Grenada 1970–1982, 1998–  Guernsey 9 1970–  Guyana 3 1966–1970, 1978–1982, 1990–  Hong Kong 10 1934, 1954–1962, 1970–1994  India 1934–1938, 1954–1958, 1966–1982, 1990– Ireland11 12 1930  Irish Free State 11 1934  Isle of Man 1958–  Jamaica 1934, 1954–1982, 1990–  Jersey 9 1958–  Kenya 1954–1982, 1990–  Kiribati 1998–  Lesotho 1974–  Malawi 13 1970–  Malaya 14 1950, 1958–1962  Malaysia 1966–1982, 1990–  Maldives 1986–2014  Malta 1958–1962, 1970, 1982–  Mauritius 1958, 1966–1982, 1990–  Montserrat 1994–  Mozambique 1998–  Namibia 1994–  Nauru 1990–  Newfoundland 15 1930–1934  New Zealand 1930–  Nigeria 1950–1958, 1966–1974, 1982, 1990–1994, 2002–  Niue 2002–  Norfolk Island 1986–  North Borneo 14 1958–1962  Northern Ireland 11 16 1934–1938, 1954–  Northern Rhodesia 18 1954-1958  Pakistan 1954–1970, 1990–  Papua New Guinea 1962–1982, 1990– Rhodesia18 1934–1950  Rhodesia and Nyasaland 17 1962  Rwanda 2010–  Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla 2 1978  Saint Helena19 1982, 1998–  Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 1990–  Saint Lucia 1962, 1970, 1978, 1994–  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1958, 1966–1978, 1994–  Samoa 20 1998–  Sarawak 14 1958–1962  Scotland 1930–  Seychelles 1990–  Sierra Leone 1958, 1966–1970, 1978, 1990–  Singapore 14 1958–  Solomon Islands 1982, 1990–  South Africa 1930–1958, 1994–  South Arabia 1 1966  Southern Rhodesia 18 1954–1958  Sri Lanka 5 1974–1982, 1990–  Swaziland 1970–  Tanganyika 21 1962  Tanzania 1966–1982, 1990–  Tonga 1974, 1982, 1990–  Trinidad and Tobago 1934–1982, 1990–  Turks and Caicos Islands 1978, 1998–  Tuvalu 1998–  Uganda 1954–1974, 1982, 1990–  Vanuatu 1982–  Wales 1930–  Western Samoa 20 1974–1994  Zambia 13 1970–1982, 1990–  Zimbabwe 13 22 1982, 1990–2002
Legend
Participated   Withdrew for political reason   Not eligible to participate   To be determined

Notes

1. ^ Aden later joined South Arabia in 1963 and departed the Commonwealth in 1968.
2. ^ Anguilla was completely separated from Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla in 1980 and remaining Saint Kitts and Nevis became independent from the United Kingdom in 1983.
3. ^ British Guiana was renamed Guyana in 1966.
4. ^ British Honduras was renamed Belize in 1973.
5. ^ Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka in 1972.
6. ^ Fiji was re-suspended from the Commonwealth and Games in 2009.^[14] Fiji's suspension from the Commonwealth was lifted in time for the 2014 Games following democratic elections in March, 2014.
7. ^ Gambia withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2013. However, it may re-join the Commonwealth in time to participate in the 2018 or 2022 Games.^[15]
8. ^ Gold Coast (British colony) was renamed Ghana in 1957.
9. ^ Including neighbouring Islands.
10. ^ Hong Kong was never a Commonwealth member but was a territory of a Commonwealth country; it ceased to be in the Commonwealth when the territory was handed over to China in 1997.
11. ^ Ireland was represented as a team from the whole of the island in 1930, and from both parts, the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland in 1934. The Irish Free State was renamed Ireland in 1937 (but also known by its name in Irish Éire), did not participate in the 1938 Games, and was formally excluded from the Commonwealth when it declared that it was a Republic on 18 April 1949.
12. ^ Contemporary illustrations show Green Flag used for the Irish team.
13. ^ Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe competed in 1962 as part of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
14. ^ Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore federated as Malaysia in 1963. Singapore left the federation in 1965.
15. ^ Maldives withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2016.
16. ^ Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.
17. ^ The Ulster Banner was the flag of the former Government of Northern Ireland only between 1953 and 1972, but the flag has been regarded as flag of Northern Ireland since 1924 among unionists and loyalists.The Ulster Banner is the sporting flag of Notthern Ireland in other events as the FIFA World Cup and in the FIVB Volleyball World Championship.
18. ^ Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia federated with Nyasaland in 1953 as Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which dissolved at the end of 1963.
19. ^ Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia competed separately in 1954 and 1958.
20. ^ Under the name of "Saint Helena" in the Commonwealth Games.^[16] Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha were dependencies of Saint Helena, so the territory was officially called "Saint Helena and Dependencies" until 2009. Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha became equal parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in 2009.
21. ^ Western Samoa was renamed Samoa in 1997.
22. ^ Zanzibar and Tanganyika federated to form Tanzania in 1964.
23. ^ Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2003.

Commonwealth nations/dependencies/disputed territories yet to send teams

Very few Commonwealth dependencies and nations have yet to take part:

• Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, former dependencies of Saint Helena and current parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, have never formed their own teams independent from the Saint Helena team.
• Other states, territories and territorial autonomies with native populations within the Commonwealth that may be eligible include Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (territories of Australia), Nevis (a federal entity of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis), Rodrigues (outer islands of Mauritius), and Zanzibar (a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania).
• Cornwall, represented by the Cornwall Commonwealth Games Association (CCGA), sent a bid for participation in the 2006 Commonwealth Games, however, their application was rejected by the CGF, who stated that the constitutional status of Cornwall was not an issue that should be resolved through this medium. However, in 2010, the CCGA sought to launch a legal challenge to the decision of the CGF, stating that the Cornish bid of 2006 fulfilled the entire criterion of the CGF, and by rejecting the bid, the CGF had violated their own code, failing to follow their own criteria for participation. The Cornwall team will therefore seek competition in the 2014 games.^[17]
• The British Indian Ocean Territory currently has no permanent population although there is a sizeable population who were born in the BIOT but currently live in Mauritius and the United Kingdom and so would be eligible to compete on birth criteria.
• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has made applications to the CGF to send teams.
• It is also conceivable that any future members of the Commonwealth such as applicants (for example South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen) may participate in future games. The Colony of Aden and Federation of South Arabia, precursors to modern Yemen, participated before in 1962 and in 1966. Sudan was an Anglo-Egyptian protectorate until independence in 1956.
• The Pitcairn Islands' tiny population (currently 50 to 60 people) would appear to prevent this British overseas territory from competing.
• Tokelau was expected to take part in the 2010 Games in Delhi but did not do so.
• The lack of a permanent population would seem to prevent the British overseas territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory, the New Zealand territory of Ross Dependency and the Australian external territories of Australian Antarctic Territory, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands and Heard Island and McDonald Islands from competing.

Notable competitors

Lawn bowler Willie Wood from Scotland was the first competitor to have competed in seven Commonwealth Games, from 1974 to 2002, a record equalled in 2014 by Isle of Man cyclist Andrew Roche.^[18] Also, Greg Yelavich, a sports shooter from New Zealand, has won 12 medals in seven games from 1986 to 2010.

Nauruan weightlifter Marcus Stephen won twelve medals at the Games between 1990 and 2002, of which seven gold, and was elected President of Nauru in 2007. His performance has helped place Nauru (the smallest independent state in the Commonwealth, at 21 km² and with a population of fewer than 9,400 in 2011) in nineteenth place on the all-time Commonwealth Games medal table.

See also

• All-time medal tally of Commonwealth Games
• African Games
• Asian Games
• Commonwealth Mountain and Ultradistance Running Championships
• Indian Empire Games
• Jeux de la Francophonie
• Kingdom Games
• List of Commonwealth Games venues

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commonwealth Games.

• Commonwealth Games Federation Official Website