The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, have successively run every four years since. The Games were 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 are 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 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were 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 were, 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. In terms of sports and events, the 2002 Games were, to date,the largest Commonwealth Games in history, featuring 281 events across 17 sports.
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad and commonly known as Montreal 1976, were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam on May 12, 1970, over the bids of Moscow and Los Angeles. It was the first and, so far, only Summer Olympic Games to be held in Canada. Toronto hosted the 1976 Summer Paralympics the same year as the Montreal Olympics, which still remains the only Summer Paralympics to be held in Canada. Calgary and Vancouver later hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1988 and 2010, respectively.
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 1998 Commonwealth Games(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16), was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedented facts in the history of the event. The 1998 games were the first held in an Asian country and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th century. This was also the first time the games took place in a nation with a head of state other than the Head of the Commonwealth, and the first time the games were held in a country whose majority of the population did not have English as the first language. For the first time ever, the games included team sports. The other bid from the 1998 games came from Adelaide in Australia. Malaysia was the eighth nation to host the Commonwealth Games after Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Wales, Jamaica and Scotland. Around 3638 athletes from 70 Commonwealth member nations participated at the games which featured 214 events in 15 sports with 34 of them collected medals.
The 1990 Commonwealth Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, judo, lawn bowls, shooting and weightlifting. Netball and the Triathlon were demonstration events.
The 1974 British Commonwealth Games were 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 Games were 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 Games were held after the 1974 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Dunedin for wheelchair athletes.
New Zealand at the 1938 British Empire Games was represented by a team of 69 competitors and 13 officials, including 18 athletes, 15 rowers, eight swimmers and divers, and seven each of boxers, cyclists and wrestlers. Selection of the team for the Games in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was Jim Leckie. The New Zealand team finished fifth on the medal table, winning a total of 25 medals, five of which were gold.
New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games was represented by a team of 175 competitors and 24 officials. Selection of the host nation's team for the Games in Auckland, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was Harold Nelson. The New Zealand team finished third on the medal table, winning a total of 53 medals, 10 of which were gold.
New Zealand at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was represented by a team of 56 competitors and nine officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was Max Carr. The New Zealand team finished fifth on the medal table, winning a total of 19 medals, seven of which were gold.
New Zealand at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was represented by a team of 66 competitors and 11 officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Cardiff, Wales, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was javelin thrower Malcolm Hahn. The New Zealand team finished fifth on the medal table, winning a total of 19 medals, four of which were gold.
New Zealand at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was represented by a team of 60 competitors and 18 officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Kingston, Jamaica, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was weightlifter Don Oliver. The New Zealand team finished fourth on the medal table, winning a total of 26 medals, eight of which were gold.
New Zealand at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games was represented by a team of 65 competitors and 19 officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Commonwealth Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was field athlete Les Mills. The New Zealand team finished 11th on the medal table, winning a total of 14 medals, two of which were gold.
New Zealand at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games was represented by a team of 142 competitors and 33 officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and British Commonwealth Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was field athlete Warwick Nicholl. The New Zealand team finished fourth on the medal table, winning a total of 35 medals, nine of which were gold.
New Zealand at the 1978 Commonwealth Games was represented by a team of 102 competitors and 32 officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Edmonton, Canada, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was cyclist Neil Lyster. The New Zealand team finished fifth on the medal table, winning a total of 20 medals, five of which were gold.
New Zealand at the 1982 Commonwealth Games was represented by a team of 112 competitors and 43 officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Brisbane, Australia, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was veteran discus thrower Robin Tait. The New Zealand team finished fifth on the medal table, winning a total of 26 medals, five of which were gold.
New Zealand at the 1986 Commonwealth Games was represented by a team of 127 competitors and 45 officials. Selection of the team for the Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association. New Zealand's flagbearer at the opening ceremony was sculler Stephanie Foster. The New Zealand team finished fourth on the medal table, winning a total of 38 medals, eight of which were gold.
New Zealand sent a team of 134 competitors and 57 officials to the 1994 Commonwealth Games, which were held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The flagbearer at the opening ceremony was Brian Fowler, and at the closing ceremony was Stephen Petterson.
Graeme John Miller is a former New Zealand racing cyclist from Blenheim. He competed at three Olympic Games in 1984, 1988 and 1992. His best result was in 1988 in Seoul where he finished 8th in the men's road race.
New Zealand competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, from 23 July to 3 August 2014. It was the nation's 20th appearance at the Commonwealth Games, having competed at every Games since their inception in 1930. The New Zealand Olympic Committee registered the complete team on 8 July 2014, with 239 athletes competing at the Games across all 17 sports. The team was reduced to 238 prior to the opening ceremony, after judoka Patti Grogan withdrew due to an unspecified health issue.
