The Commonwealth Games were inaugurated as the
British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada),
in 1930, with 400 competitors representing 11 countries. Since then they have been celebrated on 14 other
occasions and grown considerably in status. The festival has undergone name changes that reflect the growing political maturity of member countries, and the
changing relationship of Great Britain to its former empire. From 1930 to 1950, the games were known as the
British Empire Games; from 1954 to 1962 as the British
Empire and Commonwealth Games; from 1966 to 1974
as the British Commonwealth Games; and since 1978
as the Commonwealth Games.
History
In 1891, the Englishman John Astley Cooper
(1858–1930) proposed an “Anglo-Saxon Olympiad”
and/or “Pan-Britannic Gathering” to celebrate industry, culture, and athletic achievements among the English-speaking nations of the world (including the
United States). Then in 1911, as part of the “Festival of
Empire” coronation celebrations for George V (1865–
1936), an “Inter-Empire Sports Meeting” was held in
London. Teams representing Australia, Canada, New
Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom competed, with the Canadian team emerging victorious.
The First British Empire Games were held at Hamilton
in 1930.
By 1930, some disenchantment surfaced at the perceived lack of sportsmanship demonstrated at the
Olympic Games and resentment at the domination of
U.S. athletes. The empire, too, was less of a force in international affairs. The prospect of some more “private” competition was therefore appealing, and perhaps a way of partly restoring some prestige.
Sixteen countries were represented at London in 1934. The games at Sydney in 1938 provided a happy
event that contrasted sharply with the “Nazi Olympics”
in Berlin only 18 months earlier. Because of World War
II a dozen years would pass before athletes of the empire could meet again in friendly competition, in
neighboring New Zealand.
The games at Vancouver in 1954 produced the Bannister-Landy “mile of the century,” one of most dramatic moments in sports history, and heralded the
larger and more sophisticated spectacles of the modern era, now aided by air travel and television. Cardiff,
in 1958, attracted the largest assembly to date: 35 nations sent more than 1,100 athletes, ten world records
were broken, and the games’ record book was almost
rewritten. But there were protest demonstrations because South Africa’s team was believed to be selected
“on the basis of color rather than ability”; and these
were the last games in which South Africa competed
until 1994.
No fewer than 15 world records were set in swimming alone at the 1966 games in Kingston, as this quadrennial festival continued to provide Olympic-caliber
competition for Commonwealth athletes. More world
records were set at Edinburgh four years later, when the
queen attended the games for the first time. In
Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1974, perhaps the greatest excitement came when Filbert Bayi of Tanzania defeated New Zealander John Walker in the 1,500 meters
(1,640 yards) in the new world record time of 3 minutes, 22.2 seconds. The games at Edmonton, Alberta
(Canada) in 1978 were threatened with a boycott by
African nations over the simmering issue of sporting
contacts with South Africa, particularly the rugby rivalry between New Zealand and South Africa. The
Commonwealth nations were committed to the Gleneagles Agreement of 1977, which prohibited sporting
contacts with the Republic of South Africa. Although
Nigeria still did not participate at Edmonton, diplomacy won the day and allowed other African nations to
compete in what has been described as one of the
finest Commonwealth celebrations.
Recent Games
Through no fault of the Scottish hosts, the 1986 games
in Edinburgh were the unhappiest of all, plagued by a
boycott of virtually all African and Caribbean nations,
as well as the most populous in the Commonwealth, India, over the issue of the British government’s refusal to
implement sanctions against South Africa. Although
the 1990 games in Auckland, New Zealand, finished
with a large deficit also, the celebration itself was a
great success. This process of renewal continued at the
1994 games in Victoria, aided by the return of South
Africa to the competition, the republic having rejoined
the Commonwealth less than three months before the
games. Sixty-three of the 67 Commonwealth nations
participated in the Victoria games. The 1998 games are
scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
—GERALD REDMOND
Bibliography: Dheensaw, Cleve. (1994) The Commonwealth
Games. Victoria, British Columbia: Orca Book Publishers.
Mathews, Peter, ed. (1986) The Official Commonwealth
Games Book. Preston, UK: Opax Publishing and the Commonwealth Games Consortium.