RUNNING from 28 July through to 8 August are the Commonwealth Games which are being hosted in Birmingham. Originally, Durban won the bid to host the games, but after a series of missed deadlines and an inability to ‘meet the promises contained in its bid’, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) started its search for a new host city. Despite this disappointment, South Africans are still faring well with six gold medals, seven silver medals and seven bronze medals (as of Thursday, 4 August). Here’s a look at some other fun facts!
1. Who competes?
There are 72 countries eligible to compete in the Commonwealth Games – also known as the Friendly Games – most of which are former British territories. Of the 72 countries, only six have competed in all the Commonwealth Games to date, these include:
· England
· Scotland
· Wales
· New Zealand
· Australia
· Canada
2. What are the disciplines?
The Commonwealth Games used to only include single competition events but this changed in 1998 when team games – including netball, cricket, hockey and rugby 7s – were introduced with 283 medal events across a range of disciplines. Some of the popular events include track-and-field, swimming, weightlifting, boxing and Judo.
3. How did it all start?
Mention of the games was first made in 1891 when John Astley Cooper first wrote about a sporting competition that involved members of the British Empire. It was only in 1911, when King George V was coronated that the Inter-Empire Championships were hosted with teams from Australasia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom invited. They competed in athletics, boxing, wrestling and swimming.
4. When was the first official event?
Known as the British Empire Games, the first event was officially hosted in Canada in 1930 with hundreds of athletes from 11 countries competing in 59 events in athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing, aquatics, and wrestling. Competing nations included Australia, Bermuda, British Guyana, Canada, England, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. The games have been hosted every four years, except for 1942 and 1946.
5. When did the name change?
There have actually been quite a few name changes to the Commonwealth Games throughout the years! These include:
· British Empire Games (from 1930 to 1950)
· British Empire and Commonwealth Games (from 1954 to 1966)
· British Commonwealth Games (from 1970 to 1974)
· Commonwealth Games (since 1978)
6. Who are the big medal winners?
The biggest medal winner to date is Australia who have racked in (prior to this event) – 932 gold, 775 silver and 709 bronze medals – totalling 2 416. Second is England with 2 144 and Canada with 1555 respectively.
7. What are the costs involved?
The first games in 1930 cost around £20 000 to run which is substantially lower than the £778 million the 2022 games have cost the British Government and Birmingham City Council.
There are still a few more days left so tune into the 2022 Commonwealth Games and check out all the weekend action!
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