Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games, is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 (cancelled due to World War II), have successively run every four years since. The Games were called the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. Athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams since 2002, making the Commonwealth Games the first fully inclusive international multi-sport event. In 2018, the Games became the first global multi-sport event to feature an equal number of men's and women's medal events.

Inspired by the Inter-Empire Championships, part of the 1911 Festival of Empire, Melville Marks Robinson founded the British Empire Games which were first held in Hamilton, Canada in 1930. As time progressed, the Games evolved, adding the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games for athletes with a disability (who were barred from competing from 1974 before being fully integrated by 2002) and the Commonwealth Youth Games for athletes aged 14 to 18.

The Games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which controls the sporting programme and selects host cities. The games movement consists of international sports federations (IFs), Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) and organising committees for each specific Commonwealth Games. Certain traditions, such as the hoisting of the Commonwealth Games flag and Queen's Baton Relay, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, are unique to the Games. Over 4,500 athletes competed at the latest Commonwealth Games in 25 sports and over 250 medal events, including Olympic and Paralympic sports and those popular in Commonwealth countries: bowls and squash.[7] First, second and third-place finishers in each event are awarded gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Although there are 56 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 72 teams participate in the Commonwealth Games, as dependent territories, such as Anguilla and Niue, and the four Home Nations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) send separate teams.[8] At Birmingham 2022, 15 nominally dependent territories which would compete with Australia, New Zealand or Great Britain at the Olympic level compete as independent nations. Conversely, the Commonwealth nations Gabon and Togo do not compete in the Commonwealth Games, but do at the Olympics.

22 cities in nine countries (counting England, Scotland and Wales separately) have hosted the games. Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games five times (1938, 1962, 1982, 2006 and 2018), more than any other nation. Two cities have hosted Commonwealth Games more than once: Auckland (1950, 1990) and Edinburgh (1970, 1986).

Only six nations have participated in every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Of these six, Australia, England, Canada and New Zealand have each won at least one gold medal in every Games. Australia has been the highest achieving team for thirteen editions of the Games, England for seven, and Canada for one. These three teams also top the all-time Commonwealth Games medal table in that order.

The ongoing Commonwealth Games, the 22nd, will be held in Birmingham from 28 July to 8 August 2022. The next Commonwealth Games will be held across four cities in Victoria, Australia from 17 to 29 March 2026.