The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 as the British Empire Games 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 the British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. The event removed the word British from its title for the 1978 Games and has maintained its current name ever since.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August 2002. According to planning, this event was to be held in a country in the United Kingdom as part of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth. England was the only bidder for the event and, in an internal process, Manchester was selected for the 2002 Games ahead of London. The Manchester bid used projects which were part of the failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, which were awarded 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 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were 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.
A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events.
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation is the governing body of football in Morocco. It was established in 1956. It became a member in the FIFA in 1960, and in the same year it also became a member of CAF. It organizes the football league, the Botola, the Morocco national football team and the Morocco women's national football team. It is based in Rabat. it is also a member of the UAFA and UNAF.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). It took place in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 3 August 2014.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is the governing body of the Commonwealth Games Associations (CGA). The headquarters of CGF are located in London, England.
A Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) is a national sports council of the Commonwealth Sports movement. Each association is responsible for organising, supporting and overseeing their national team for both the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth Youth Games. The associations are subject to the rules of, and report to, the Commonwealth Games Federation. As well as promoting sports nationally, an association can also place a bid for the Commonwealth Games for a potential host city. While some nations have a stand-alone association dealing exclusively with the Commonwealth Games, in many of the Commonwealth nations, the local National Olympic Committee performs the function of Commonwealth Games Association for that nation. In a few nations, such as Eswatini and Malawi, the local organisation carries both names in its normal title.
The Commonwealth Shooting Federation Championships is a shooting championship for Commonwealth countries. Organised by the Commonwealth Shooting Federation, it is typically held as a test event for the Commonwealth Games to validate the preparations for the venue and technical officials.
The Commonwealth Games sports comprise all the sports officially recognised and approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). There are a total of 16 core sports and a further 4 core para-sports that are competed at every games. In addition, the CGF allow organising committees to choose from various optional sports and disciplines to complete their games' program.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018. It was the fifth time Australia had hosted the Commonwealth Games and the first time a major multi-sport had an equal number of events for male and female athletes.
Shooting sports have been contested at the Commonwealth Games at every games since 1966 with the exception of the 1970 and 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Bidding for the 2018 Commonwealth Games began on 31 March 2010. The winning bid was announced in Basseterre, Saint Kitts on 11 November 2011. Gold Coast won its bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England between 28 July and 8 August 2022. They were the 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games. It was the third and seventh time England and the United Kingdom hosted the Commonwealth Games, respectively.
The 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, officially known as the VII Commonwealth Youth Games and informally as Trinbago 2023, was a youth sporting event for members of the Commonwealth that was held in Trinidad and Tobago. They were the seventh edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games. The games were initially scheduled between 1 and 7 August 2021 but were postponed and held from 4 to 11 August 2023 as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and scheduling issues with the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The city of Durban, South Africa was initially elected as the host for the 2022 Commonwealth Games on 2 September 2015, at a General Assembly in Auckland, New Zealand. It was reported in February 2017 however, Durban may be unable to host the games due to financial constraints. On 13 March 2017, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) stripped Durban of their rights to host. On 21 December 2017, Birmingham was awarded for the 2022 Games as Durban's replacement host. Louise Martin, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, made the official announcement at a press conference at the Arena Academy in Birmingham.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games, is a planned multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. The 2026 Commonwealth Games would be the first to be held during the reign of King Charles III.
There have been concerns and controversies about the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Birmingham, England.
An extensive bidding process for the 2026 Commonwealth Games began in 2018, and ended in 2022 with the announcement of the state of Victoria, Australia being the host. The host city was to be announced in 2019 in Rwanda, but was cancelled over lack of interest. The winning bid was announced by Dame Louise Martin, head of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
