The original name, British Empire Games, illustrates clearly where it all began and what it started out as. The first Empire Games were held in 1930 at Hamilton, Canada. Notwithstanding the intervening war years, they quickly grew to become the single tangible symbol of the British Commonwealth, that extremely diverse collection of nations with past, and generally still current, links to the 19th century’s superpower.
Reflecting the ethno-centric nature of their colonial roots, the Games were at first seen as a celebration of a family of nations in which ‘everyone could converse in English’. Their mission statement required them to be ‘merrier and less stern than the Olympics’, and that’s how successive organizers planned them. Later, they would become known as ‘The Friendly Games’.
The British Empire Games Era
Those first Games attracted around 400 athletes from eleven countries competing in six sports – athletics, boxing, bowls, swimming & diving, rowing, and wrestling. Women competed in swimming only. Gold medals were awarded in two events (one in wrestling, one in rowing) where a single competitor was entered. At the same time, there were world-class performances, and Hamilton was deemed a success. An experiment in international relationship-building through sport was established as a regular event.
Successive Games occurred in London, Sydney and Auckland. Aucklanders couldn’t get enough of the first post-war Games in 1950, with crowds far exceeding those of earlier times. Competitor numbers were still modest, just 12 countries sending teams, and the Games were still overwhelmingly an event for the more developed nations of the Empire.
By 1954 when the Games returned to Canada (Vancouver), there had been a name change – they were now the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. While the Commonwealth was still effectively a club for former colonies and their imperial masters, the Games had grown in stature and global acceptance. They could now be more inclusive as a true representation of people from all corners. Eighteen nations competed, with winning performances by Caribbean and African athletes for the first time.
Commonwealth Games Build their International Standing
Cardiff and Perth were to follow, and when in 1966 the Games traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, the ‘Empire’ was laid to rest – they were the British Commonwealth Games.
By then the Commonwealth included member nations that had not been British colonies, and for the first time the Games were held somewhere other than the UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Misgivings were voiced about staging them in a developing nation at a time of rapid social and political change around the world. The Commonwealth itself had some serious problems, but the Games went on.
Edinburgh (1970) saw 27 nations on the medal list. Participating countries now included many that were newly independent, many that had taken new names in the post-colonial era. Countries such as Kenya, Trinidad-Tobago, Guyana, Tanzania and Ghana would become recognizable in the developed world for the sporting stars they produced as much as anything else.
Politics and Sport
By the 1970s, sport was becoming a vehicle for political protest and a target for terrorism. The tragedy of the 1972 Munich Olympics hung over Christchurch as it prepared for 1974. Suddenly, security was an issue. There was the IRA, atrocities in Uganda, and New Zealand’s own sporting links with apartheid South Africa. The Games were organized and conducted with typical Kiwi flair and as much informality as the situation allowed, and the nearly 1,300 athletes from 38 countries made for a memorable and happy event.
In Christchurch a meeting of delegates voted that the word ‘British’ be dropped from the title of future Games.
Edmonton (1978), and for the first time it wasn’t Australia or England with the biggest medal haul, but hosts Canada. Professional sport was making inroads into the amateur ranks, and there were signs of an edge to competition not previously seen in the Friendly Games. Brisbane (1982) had to prepare under the cloud of a potential boycott, which fortunately did not eventuate. Then in 1986, it was back to Edinburgh.
Boycotts of the Olympics had occurred in both the 1980 and 1984, and politics were about to catch up with the Commonwealth Games. In the end, 32 nations stayed away from Edinburgh, predominantly from Africa and the Caribbean. That there was sufficient depth among those that attended for some excellent competition, with many past and future Olympic athletes featuring, showed how far the Games had grown since the early years.
Edinburgh was something of a turning point in many ways. Times were changing and the Games would not quite be the same again.
Late 20th and Early 21st Century Games
To Auckland once more in 1990, and a huge gathering of the Commonwealth family. Representatives of such places as Nauru, Bangladesh, Western Samoa and Guernsey won medals, competing proudly on equal footing with those from the usual powers. A feature of Auckland was the theme of multi-cultural goodwill, led by the hosts and which duly rubbed off on the visitors. But Auckland was to see the first drug scandal in Games history, and the financial losses of the games were starting to impact.
Victoria, Kuala Lumpur and Manchester saw increasing numbers of competitors, new sports introduced, progressively more elaborate opening ceremonies, and more financial pressures. When Melbourne held the Games in 2006, it presented more sports (16), attracted more countries (71), and hosted more participants (some 4,500) than it had for the 1956 Olympics. The Games were going strong, but the world was a much more complex place, and some serious debate about their future worth and relevance began.
Author Twinkle Brar
Reflecting the ethno-centric nature of their colonial roots, the Games were at first seen as a celebration of a family of nations in which ‘everyone could converse in English’. Their mission statement required them to be ‘merrier and less stern than the Olympics’, and that’s how successive organizers planned them. Later, they would become known as ‘The Friendly Games’.
The British Empire Games Era
Those first Games attracted around 400 athletes from eleven countries competing in six sports – athletics, boxing, bowls, swimming & diving, rowing, and wrestling. Women competed in swimming only. Gold medals were awarded in two events (one in wrestling, one in rowing) where a single competitor was entered. At the same time, there were world-class performances, and Hamilton was deemed a success. An experiment in international relationship-building through sport was established as a regular event.
Successive Games occurred in London, Sydney and Auckland. Aucklanders couldn’t get enough of the first post-war Games in 1950, with crowds far exceeding those of earlier times. Competitor numbers were still modest, just 12 countries sending teams, and the Games were still overwhelmingly an event for the more developed nations of the Empire.
By 1954 when the Games returned to Canada (Vancouver), there had been a name change – they were now the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. While the Commonwealth was still effectively a club for former colonies and their imperial masters, the Games had grown in stature and global acceptance. They could now be more inclusive as a true representation of people from all corners. Eighteen nations competed, with winning performances by Caribbean and African athletes for the first time.
Commonwealth Games Build their International Standing
Cardiff and Perth were to follow, and when in 1966 the Games traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, the ‘Empire’ was laid to rest – they were the British Commonwealth Games.
By then the Commonwealth included member nations that had not been British colonies, and for the first time the Games were held somewhere other than the UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Misgivings were voiced about staging them in a developing nation at a time of rapid social and political change around the world. The Commonwealth itself had some serious problems, but the Games went on.
Edinburgh (1970) saw 27 nations on the medal list. Participating countries now included many that were newly independent, many that had taken new names in the post-colonial era. Countries such as Kenya, Trinidad-Tobago, Guyana, Tanzania and Ghana would become recognizable in the developed world for the sporting stars they produced as much as anything else.
Politics and Sport
By the 1970s, sport was becoming a vehicle for political protest and a target for terrorism. The tragedy of the 1972 Munich Olympics hung over Christchurch as it prepared for 1974. Suddenly, security was an issue. There was the IRA, atrocities in Uganda, and New Zealand’s own sporting links with apartheid South Africa. The Games were organized and conducted with typical Kiwi flair and as much informality as the situation allowed, and the nearly 1,300 athletes from 38 countries made for a memorable and happy event.
In Christchurch a meeting of delegates voted that the word ‘British’ be dropped from the title of future Games.
Edmonton (1978), and for the first time it wasn’t Australia or England with the biggest medal haul, but hosts Canada. Professional sport was making inroads into the amateur ranks, and there were signs of an edge to competition not previously seen in the Friendly Games. Brisbane (1982) had to prepare under the cloud of a potential boycott, which fortunately did not eventuate. Then in 1986, it was back to Edinburgh.
Boycotts of the Olympics had occurred in both the 1980 and 1984, and politics were about to catch up with the Commonwealth Games. In the end, 32 nations stayed away from Edinburgh, predominantly from Africa and the Caribbean. That there was sufficient depth among those that attended for some excellent competition, with many past and future Olympic athletes featuring, showed how far the Games had grown since the early years.
Edinburgh was something of a turning point in many ways. Times were changing and the Games would not quite be the same again.
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Late 20th and Early 21st Century Games
To Auckland once more in 1990, and a huge gathering of the Commonwealth family. Representatives of such places as Nauru, Bangladesh, Western Samoa and Guernsey won medals, competing proudly on equal footing with those from the usual powers. A feature of Auckland was the theme of multi-cultural goodwill, led by the hosts and which duly rubbed off on the visitors. But Auckland was to see the first drug scandal in Games history, and the financial losses of the games were starting to impact.
Victoria, Kuala Lumpur and Manchester saw increasing numbers of competitors, new sports introduced, progressively more elaborate opening ceremonies, and more financial pressures. When Melbourne held the Games in 2006, it presented more sports (16), attracted more countries (71), and hosted more participants (some 4,500) than it had for the 1956 Olympics. The Games were going strong, but the world was a much more complex place, and some serious debate about their future worth and relevance began.
Author Twinkle Brar
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