Commonwealth Games
Where can I find information about the Commonwealth Games?
(Years 7-10)
Image: Commonwealth Games 2014 - Athletics Day 4 by Graham Campbell on Wikimedia Commons.
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Entry last updated: 6/12/24
Introduction
The Commonwealth Games started in 1930 called the British Empire games. After a couple of name changes, they were called the Commonwealth Games in 1978.
Like the Olympic Games, they are held every four years and feature teams from all over the world competing in different sports and athletics events. Unlike the Olympics, teams at the Commonwealth Games must be part of a special group of countries called the Commonwealth of Nations (Commonwealth).
General information
To understand what makes the Commonwealth Games different to other international sporting events, we first need find out what the Commonwealth is. There are other things that make the Games special, including the fact that para-sport events are included rather than having them as their own separate games.
This is an EPIC resource. EPIC is a collection of reliable databases covering lots of different topics, which has been put together especially for New Zealand school students. You may need a password from your school or local library to access it.
Choose the Middle level.
Search using the keyword 'commonwealth'.
The article Commonwealth (association of sovereign states) is about the Commonwealth of Nations and its history.
Or look at Commonwealth Games (sports competition) to find out about the games.
You can change the Reading Level at the top of the page to get more or less information.
Tips: To get to the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian first. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.
Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about Aotearoa New Zealand. If we scroll down to the bottom of the page we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.
Because New Zealand is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (which used to be called the British Empire), we can find lots of information here.
Search using keyword 'Commonwealth'.
Select Empire and Commonwealth to find out about the history of the empire.
Also check out information about past Olympic and Commonwealth Games.
This story has a page about New Zealand as the Commonwealth Games host.
Tips: We like sites that are from government or other reputable organisations, because we can trust the information. You can sometimes tell these sites by their web address – they might have .gov or .edu in their address – or by looking at their About us or Contact pages.
This is the official site for the Commonwealth Games. There is a lot of great information here spread over many interesting pages.
Go to the tab Nations to find a list of countries that have teams at the games. Select a country to find out more about them eg Tonga.
Go to About us and choose Para-sports to get information about the para-sports events.
Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. In this case, this is the official site for the event, so the information should be reliable. If in doubt, check the information you find against information on other websites.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee looks after New Zealand's Olympic and Commonwealth Games teams. It has in-depth information about New Zealand’s athletes, and their performance in the Commonwealth Games.
For past and future games involving New Zealand go to Games.
You can filter past games by Games Type to only look at the Commonwealth Games.
For information about individual athletes select the tab Athletes.
Search for an athlete or use the filters down the side.
Current and future games
The following websites have information about current and upcoming Commonwealth Games.
This is the official site for the XXIII (23nd) Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow in 2026. There is a countdown to the games at the bottom of each page.
Get information about the different sports featured in the 2026 Commonwealth games by selecting The Games and then Sports.
You can then choose a sport to learn about eg Artistic Gymnastics.
Tips: Many web pages have links to further information or to other recommended sites. Following these links is a great way to find out more. This searching method is called “pearl growing” because you are picking up pieces of sand to make a beautiful pearl!
This is the news site for TVNZ. It has up-to-date information (with a New Zealand focus) about current Commonwealth Games, the athletes, the events, and the results.
While the games are happening, you will see more articles linked on the front page.
Use the search bar to look up the keywords 'commonwealth games' or to search for athletes or sports you're interested in.
This is the official site for Radio New Zealand. They have articles and more about the Commonwealth Games as they happen.
Search for 'Commonwealth Games'.
Choose something to read or listen to.
Past games
Commonwealth Games have been held on the following years, in these locations:
1930 Hamilton (Canada)
1934 London (England)
1938 Sydney (Australia)
1950 Auckland (New Zealand)
1954 Vancouver (Canada)
1958 Cardiff (Wales)
1962 Perth (Australia)
1966 Kingston (Jamaica)
1970 Edinburgh (Scotland)
1974 Christchurch (New Zealand)
1978 Edmonton (Canada)
1982 Brisbane (Australia)
1986 Edinburgh (Scotland)
1990 Auckland (New Zealand)
1994 Victoria (Canada)
1998 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
2002 Manchester (England)
2006 Melbourne (Australia)
2010 Delhi (India)
2014 Glasgow (Scotland)
2018 Gold Coast (Australia)
2022 Birmingham (England)
This site also has information about past Commonwealth Games.
Go to the tab Games, then Commonwealth Games.
Choose a city and year to find out more about those games eg Christchurch 1974.
DigitalNZ is a search site that focuses on New Zealand history and brings together results from lots of different websites. It’s an easy way of searching online resources from New Zealand libraries, museums, universities and government sites all at once, and has lots of primary sources. The results are grouped by the type of information, like images, videos, newspapers, articles and research papers.
Use the search bar to look up the keywords 'commonwealth games' or to search for athletes or sports you're interested in.
There can be a lot of results, so use the tabs across the page to narrow your search by information type eg videos.
A great website for information about Aotearoa New Zealand. If we go all the way down the page we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well researched and reliable.
Search for 'commonwealth games'.
Select the box that says commonwealth games to bring up a list of events in history and articles.
Books
You can read books about the Commonwealth Games or the sports that are played at the games. Check out your local or school library to see what they have. Here's some that we found:
The Commonwealth Games by Moira Butterfield.
Athletics by David Rafferty.
Judo by Rennay Craats.
Gymnastics by M K Osborne.
SCIS no: 1857368
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