1970 British Commonwealth Games
Multi-sport event in Edinburgh, Scotland
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The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in all events, and also the first time the event was held in Scotland.[1]
| |
| Host city | Edinburgh, Scotland |
|---|---|
| Nations | 42 |
| Athletes | 1,744 (inc. officials) |
| Events | 121 events in 10 sports |
| Opening | 16 July 1970 |
| Closing | 25 July 1970 |
| Opened by | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh |
| Athlete's Oath | Crawford Fairbrother |
| Queen's Baton Final Runner | Jim Alder |
| Main venue | Meadowbank Stadium |
Also, the event saw the first unique Games trademark logo: an emblem showing the Games emblem intertwined with a St Andrews Cross and a thistle. The event was followed by the 1970 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games for wheelchair athletes. The 1970 Games was one of the most successful in the history of the event.[2][3]
Host selection
In August 1966, the bid vote was held in Jamaica. The successful bidder was Edinburgh, Scotland with 18 votes beating Christchurch, New Zealand, with 11.[4] In 1967, an appeal fund was launched, aiming to raise £200,000 towards the cost of running the games.[5]
| City | Country | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | .svg){kind=small} Scotland |
18 |
| Christchurch |  New Zealand |
11 |
Participating teams
42 teams were represented at the 1970 Games.
(Teams competing for the first time are shown in bold).
Antigua
Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
Canada
Ceylon
Dominica
England
Fiji
Ghana
Gibraltar
Grenada: first appearance
Guernsey: first appearance
Guyana
Hong Kong
India
Isle of Man
Jamaica
Jersey
Kenya
Malawi: first appearance
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
New Zealand
Nigeria
Northern Ireland
Pakistan
Papua and New Guinea
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Scotland (host)
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Swaziland: first appearance
Tanzania
The Gambia: first appearance
Trinidad and Tobago
Uganda
Wales
Zambia
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Venues
The Meadowbank Sports Centre was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games, at a cost of £2.8 million.[6] It was opened by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent on 2 May 1970.[6] Adjacent to the main stadium were three sports halls for the fencing, badminton and wrestling competitions and a velodrome built at the cost of £90,000.[7][8]
- Athletes' Village – Pollock Halls of Residence[9]
- Athletics, Opening and Closing Ceremonies - Meadowbank Sports Centre[1]
- Badminton – Meadowbank Sports Centre[1]
- Boxing – Murrayfield Ice Rink[1]
- Cycling (track) – Meadowbank Velodrome[1]
- Cycling (road) – Holyrood Park 102 miles (31 circuits)[10]
- Diving – Royal Commonwealth Pool
- Fencing – Meadowbank Sports Centre[1]
- Lawn bowls - Balgreen Bowling Club[1]
- Swimming – Royal Commonwealth Pool
- Weightlifting - Leith Town Hall[1]
- Wrestling – Meadowbank Sports Centre[1]
Medal table
* Host nation (Scotland)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australia (AUS) | 36 | 24 | 22 | 82 |
| 2 |  England (ENG) | 27 | 25 | 32 | 84 |
| 3 |  Canada (CAN) | 18 | 24 | 24 | 66 |
| 4 |  Scotland (SCO)* | 6 | 8 | 11 | 25 |
| 5 |  Kenya (KEN) | 5 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| 6 |  India (IND) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 7 |  Pakistan (PAK) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 8 |  Jamaica (JAM) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 9 |  Uganda (UGA) | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 10 |  Northern Ireland (NIR) | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 11 |  New Zealand (NZL) | 2 | 6 | 6 | 14 |
| 12 |  Wales (WAL) | 2 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| 13 |  Ghana (GHA) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 14 |  Nigeria (NGR) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 |  Malaysia (MAS) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 16 |  British Hong Kong | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 |  Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 18 |  Zambia (ZAM) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 19 |  Singapore (SIN) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 |  Barbados (BAR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Tanzania (TAN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 22 |  Fiji (FIJ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Gambia (GAM) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Guyana (GUY) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Isle of Man (IOM) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Malawi (MAW) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Saint Vincent | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (27 entries) | 121 | 121 | 133 | 375 | |
Sports
- Aquatics
Athletics () 
Badminton () 
Boxing () 
Cycling () 
Fencing () 
Lawn bowls () 
Weightlifting () 
Wrestling ()
