| Sophia Gardens Pavilion | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Demolished |
| Address | Sophia Gardens |
| Town or city | Cardiff |
| Country | Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°28′56″N3°11′17″W / 51.4822°N 3.188°W |
| Opened | 1951 [1] |
| Demolished | January 1982 [1] |
| Owner | Cardiff County Borough Council |
Sophia Gardens Pavilion was a performance venue located in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales. It was built in 1951 for the Festival of Britain and was the boxing and wrestling venue for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
The pavilion was built in 1951 for the Festival of Britain. [2] [1] Due to government restrictions on building materials during the post-war period, the framework of the building was adapted from a surplus aircraft hangar from RAF Stormy Down near Bridgend. [1]
The building was host to many concerts, but during January 1982 the roof collapsed due to an estimated 4 ft (1.2 m) of snow, [1] and the building was subsequently demolished. [3] Just one month before the collapse, Cardiff Council had approved an extensive improvement programme, which would have cost approximately £100,000. [1]
The pavilion was used for the boxing and wrestling competitions of the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. [4]
Many notable performers played at the pavilion, including Danny Kaye, Cliff Richard, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Slade. [5] [4]
Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of 372,089 in 2022 and forms a principal area officially known as the City and County of Cardiff. The city is the eleventh largest in the United Kingdom. Located in the southeast of Wales and in the Cardiff Capital Region, Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan and in 1974–1996 of South Glamorgan. It belongs to the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for coal when mining began in the region helped its expansion. In 1905, it was ranked as a city and in 1955 proclaimed capital of Wales. Cardiff Built-up Area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth.
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The 1994 Commonwealth Games were held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, between 18 and 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, lawn bowls, shooting, weightlifting, and wrestling. These were the fourth and most recent Commonwealth Games to be hosted by Canada, after Hamilton 1930, Vancouver 1954, and Edmonton 1978.
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Cliffs Pavilion is a theatre, sports, exhibition and concert venue located on Station Road in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, a suburb within the city of Southend-on-Sea. It is the largest purpose-built arts venue in Essex, and the largest capacity of any theatre in the East of England. In 2006, the operation of Cliffs Pavilion, along with the Palace Theatre, were handed to HQ Theatres by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council. HQ Theatres merged with Trafalgar Entertainment in 2021. In February 2022, the Cliffs played host to He Built This City concert, a tribute to the murdered MP for Southend West Sir David Amess.
The Cardiff Wales Stadium, which is part of Sophia Gardens Cardiff, is a cricket stadium in Cardiff, Wales. It is located in Sophia Gardens on the River Taff. It is home to Glamorgan County Cricket Club and is listed as an international Test cricket venue.
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Sophia Gardens is a public park in Riverside, Cardiff, Wales, on the west bank of the River Taff. International test cricket matches and county cricket matches are held in the Sophia Gardens cricket ground, the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club. The gardens are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Sport in Cardiff is dictated by, amongst other things, its position as the capital city of Wales, meaning that national home sporting fixtures are nearly always played in the city. All of Wales' multi-sports agencies and many of the country's sports governing bodies have their headquarters in Cardiff and the city's many top-quality venues have attracted world-famous sport events, sometimes unrelated to Cardiff or to Wales.
Athletics has a long history in Wales, with many events recognised today codified during the Victorian period. The first amateur athletic clubs in Wales were formed in the 1870s, while the first championships began in the early 20th century. Wales began competing as a country in international athletic events in the 1920s and has since produced a notable number of world class sportspeople including many medal winning Commonwealth, World, Olympic, Paralympic and European champions. Wales competes in the Commonwealth Games under its own flag but at the Olympic Games, Welsh athletes compete alongside those of Scotland, England and Northern Ireland as part of a Great Britain team.
Donald "Don" Braithwaite BEM (1936–2017) was a former professional boxer from Caerphilly, Wales, who competed in the flyweight division during his career. As an amateur he represented Wales as a flyweight in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games winning a bronze medal. Donald become a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire in the Queens birthday honours 2015 for services to boxing, the opportunities he's provided for youngsters and his support for a variety of charities, Don was also awarded a lifetime fellowship member of Swansea University for his support in research for brain injury in sport.
The Wales Empire Pool, known locally as the Empire Pool, was an international standard swimming pool building, located in Cardiff, Wales from 1958 until it was demolished in 1998. It was a centrepiece for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
Lauren Louise Price is a Welsh professional boxer, former amateur boxer and former kickboxer and footballer. She has held the WBA, IBO, and Ring female welterweight World titles since 11 May 2024. She was the first-ever female British professional boxing champion having won the welterweight title on 6 May 2023 and holding it until vacating the belt when she became World champion. While representing Wales in the amateur sport she won a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Welsh woman to win a Commonwealth Games boxing medal. Four years later she surpassed this achievement by winning gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, followed by a gold at the 2019 World Championships. While representing Great Britain, she won gold medals at the 2019 European Games and 2020 Summer Olympics.
Wales competed at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales, from 18 July to 26 July 1958.
