The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which mostly consists of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has successively run every four years since. The event was 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, and four years later they became the first global multi-sport event to have more events for women than men.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, was an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The event was to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth, and Manchester was selected for the 2002 Games ahead of London using a recycled part of the project, which lost the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics to Sydney, Australia. The 2002 Commonwealth Games was, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing the London 1948 Summer Olympics in terms of teams and athletes participating. The 2002 Commonwealth Games had the largest number of events of any Commonwealth Games in history, featuring 281 events across 17 sports.
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad and commonly known as Rome 1960, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awarded the administration of the 1908 Summer Olympics, but following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, the city had no choice but to decline and pass the honour to London. The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals at the 1960 Games.
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held in Melbourne, Australia between 15 and 26 March 2006. It was the fourth time Australia had hosted the Commonwealth Games. It was also the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.
The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America. The music for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies was composed by Canadian composers Jan Randall and Cassius Khan. The ceremonies also featured a 1000 voice choir, and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.
The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18 to 26 July 1958.
The 1974 British Commonwealth Games was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The event was officially named "the friendly games". There were 1,276 competitors and 372 officials, according to the official history, and public attendance was excellent. The main venue was the QEII Park, purpose-built for this event. The Athletics Stadium and fully covered Olympic standard pool, diving tank, and practice pools were all on the one site. The theme song was "Join Together", sung by Steve Allen. The event was held after the 1974 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Dunedin for wheelchair athletes.
The 1978 Commonwealth Games was held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apartheid-era South Africa, as well as by Uganda, in protest at alleged Canadian hostility towards the government of Idi Amin. The Bid Election was held at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
The 2001 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXI Summer Universiade, was an international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, between 22 August and 1 September. A total of 6,757 athletes from 165 nations took part in 12 sports. The hosts, China, topped the medal table for the first time, with a total of 103 medals and 54 gold medals.
The 2011 Summer Universiade, the XXVI Summer Universiade also Shenzhen 2011, was hosted in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
The 2015 Summer Universiade was a Universiade held in the city of Gwangju, South Korea. It took place from July 3 to July 14, 2015.
Robert Daniel Steadward, is a Canadian retired sports administrator, professor, sports scientist, and author. Steadward helped organize the first Canadian wheelchair sport national championships in 1968, and later coached Canada in wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics. He became a professor at the University of Alberta in 1971, later served as chairman of the Department of Athletics, and published more than 150 papers about disability sport. He was the founding president of the Alberta Wheelchair Sports Association in 1971, founded the Research and Training Centre for Athletes with Disabilities in 1978, served as president of the Canadian Paralympic Committee from 1984 to 1990, and later became a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
The 2017 Summer Universiade was a multi-sport event, commonly referred to as a Universiade, held in the city of Taipei, Taiwan. It took place from August 19 to August 30, 2017.
The Cycling Tournament at the 1983 Summer Universiade took place in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) in July 1983. Cycling was included in the Summer Universiade programme as an optional sport. There were 12 cycling events; 8 for track cycling and 4 for road cycling. The venue for track cycling was the Argyll Velodrome. The finish of the road races were in Hawerlark Park.
The 2013 Canada Summer Games is a national multi-sport event that was held in Sherbrooke, Quebec from August 2, 2013 to August 17, 2013. These Games were the first Canada Summer Games to be held in Quebec, and third overall after the inaugural Canada Winter Games in Quebec City in 1967 and the 1983 Canada Winter Games in Saguenay.
Lois Appleby has been a leading sport administrator in Australia, particularly in managing major international sporting events. She was originally from Canada.
The Argyll Velodrome is an outdoor velodrome in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The velodrome is 333.333 m (1,093.61 ft) x 7 m (23 ft) wide with a 37 degree banked concrete surface.
Canada competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia from 4 April – 15 April 2018. It was Canada's 21st appearance at the Commonwealth Games, having competed at every Games since their inception in 1930.
