Commonwealth Games 2026

Completed

Glasgow, Scotland • 23 Jul 2026 — 2 Aug 2026

#	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Australia	70	45	56	171
2	England	29	45	36	110
3	Canada	19	20	23	62
4	India	13	17	9	39
5	Scotland	13	9	17	39
6	New Zealand	10	14	12	36
7	Nigeria	10	7	7	24
8	Jamaica	10	4	5	19
9	Wales	9	10	12	31
10	Malaysia	8	3	5	16

Country

G S BT

AUS

704556171

ENG

294536110

CAN

19202362

IND

1317939

SCO

1391739

NZL

10141236

NGR

107724

JAM

104519

WAL

9101231

MAS

83516

Overview

The Commonwealth Games traces its roots to 1891, when Australian-born clergyman John Astley Cooper first proposed a 'Pan-Britannic and Pan-Anglican Contest and Festival' to promote sporting unity across the British Empire. A partial realisation came in 1911, when the Festival of Empire in London staged an 'Inter-Empire Championship' between teams from the United Kingdom, Australasia, Canada and South Africa. The formal catalyst came at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, where Canadian sports journalist Melville Marks 'Bobby' Robinson, then managing Canada's track team, championed the creation of an independent quadrennial tournament.

The inaugural British Empire Games followed in Hamilton, Ontario in August 1930, with 400 athletes from 11 nations competing in six sports. The Games were cancelled in 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War, resuming at Auckland in 1950. As the British Empire decolonised, the event's name changed repeatedly to reflect its evolving identity: British Empire Games (1930-1950), British Empire and Commonwealth Games (1954-1966), British Commonwealth Games (1970-1974), and simply the Commonwealth Games from the 1978 Edmonton Games onward.

Notable milestones include the 1954 'Miracle Mile' in Vancouver, where England's Roger Bannister and Australia's John Landy became the first two men to race each other having both broken the four-minute mile; the 1958 debut of the Queen's Baton Relay in Cardiff; a 32-nation boycott of the 1986 Edinburgh Games over the UK's refusal to sanction apartheid-era South Africa; Kuala Lumpur 1998 becoming the first Asian host and introducing team sports including cricket and rugby sevens; and Manchester 2002 becoming the first major multi-sport event to fully integrate elite Para athletes into the primary medal standings. Gold Coast 2018 became the first major global multi-sport event with an equal number of medal events for women and men. The most recent edition, Glasgow 2026, was held on a deliberately reduced scale after original host Victoria, Australia withdrew in 2023 over escalating costs, running with just two compulsory sports (athletics and swimming) across a ten-sport programme - the smallest since 1994 - while still drawing 74 nations and territories, including first-time competitors Gabon and Togo.

Facts

Only six nations have competed at every single edition since 1930: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales

The Games have been known as the 'Friendly Games' since their earliest editions

The 1942 and 1946 Games were cancelled due to World War II

The Queen's Baton Relay debuted at Cardiff 1958 and has preceded every opening ceremony since

Manchester 2002 was the first major multi-sport event in history to fully integrate elite Para athletes into the main medal standings

Gold Coast 2018 was the first major global multi-sport event with equal medal events for women and men

Glasgow 2026 was a deliberately scaled-back edition after original host Victoria, Australia withdrew in 2023 over cost overruns

Chad Le Clos (South Africa) became the most decorated athlete in Commonwealth Games history at Glasgow 2026, with 21 career medals

Milestones

1930
The First Games
Held August 16-23, 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario. 400 athletes from 11 nations competed in 6 core sports: athletics, aquatics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing and wrestling. England topped the medal table.
1942-1946
World War II Hiatus
The 1942 Games (awarded to Montreal) and the 1946 Games were both cancelled due to the Second World War. Competition resumed at Auckland in 1950.
1954
The 'Miracle Mile'
England's Roger Bannister and Australia's John Landy met in the 1-mile final at Vancouver - the first time two men who had each broken the 4-minute mile raced head-to-head. Bannister won in 3:58.8 to Landy's 3:59.6.
1958
Queen's Baton Relay Begins
The Queen's Baton Relay made its debut at the Cardiff Games, carrying a message from the monarch and becoming the traditional prelude to every opening ceremony since.
1986
The Anti-Apartheid Boycott
32 of 59 eligible nations, mostly from Africa, the Caribbean and Asia, boycotted the Edinburgh Games in protest of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's refusal to impose sporting sanctions against apartheid-era South Africa.
1998
First Asian Host and New Team Sports
Kuala Lumpur became the first Asian host city. Field hockey, netball, rugby sevens and cricket were added to the official sports programme for the first time.
2002
Full Para-Sport Integration
Manchester became the first major multi-sport event in history to fully integrate elite Para athletes into the primary medal standings, rather than staging separate exhibition events.
2010
New Delhi Hosting Milestone
India hosted the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the second Asian host after Kuala Lumpur 1998, and recorded its best-ever performance, finishing 2nd in the overall medal tally.
2018
Gender Parity Achieved
Gold Coast became the first major global multi-sport event to feature an equal number of medal events for women and men.
2026
Glasgow Steps in for a Scaled-Back Games
Held after original host Victoria, Australia withdrew in 2023 citing escalating costs. Glasgow stepped in with a deliberately scaled-back programme of just 10 sports (the fewest since 1994) built around two compulsory sports, athletics and swimming. 74 nations and territories competed, including debutants Gabon and Togo. Australia topped the medal table with 171 medals.

Editions

ED.	Host	Year	NOCs	Athletes	Sports	Events	Most Medals
1	Hamilton Canada	1930	11	400	6	59	England
2	London England	1934	16	500	6	68	England
3	Sydney Australia	1938	15	464	7	71	Australia
4	Auckland New Zealand	1950	12	590	9	87	Australia
5	Vancouver Canada	1954	24	662	9	91	England
6	Cardiff Wales	1958	35	1,122	9	94	England
7	Perth Australia	1962	35	863	9	104	Australia
8	Kingston Jamaica	1966	34	1,316	9	110	England
9	Edinburgh Scotland	1970	42	1,744	9	121	Australia
10	Christchurch New Zealand	1974	38	1,276	9	121	Australia
11	Edmonton Canada	1978	46	1,475	11	128	Canada
12	Brisbane Australia	1982	46	1,583	12	141	Australia
13	Edinburgh Scotland	1986	26	1,662	10	161	England
14	Auckland New Zealand	1990	55	2,073	10	213	Australia
15	Victoria Canada	1994	63	2,557	10	217	Australia
16	Kuala Lumpur Malaysia	1998	69	3,638	15	214	Australia
17	Manchester England	2002	72	3,679	17	281	Australia
18	Melbourne Australia	2006	71	4,071	17	245	Australia
19	Delhi India	2010	71	4,352	21	272	Australia
20	Glasgow Scotland	2014	71	4,947	18	261	England
21	Gold Coast Australia	2018	71	4,426	18	275	Australia
22	Birmingham England	2022	72	4,822	20	283	Australia
23	Glasgow Scotland	2026	74	3,000	10	215	Australia

ED.Host

All-Time Medal Leaders

AustraliaThe most successful nation in Commonwealth Games history, topping the all-time medal table and winning the most golds at the majority of editions since the 1950s, including the most recent Glasgow 2026 Games.

EnglandSecond on the all-time medal table; topped the standings at several early editions including 1930, 1934, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1986 and 2014.

CanadaThird on the all-time medal table; topped the table as host at the 1978 Edmonton Games.