The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970.
This was the first time the name
British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time
metric units
Metric units are units based on the metre, gram or second and decimal (power of ten) multiples or sub-multiples of these. The most widely used examples are the units of the International System of Units (SI). By extension they include units of e ...
rather than
imperial unit
The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed thr ...
s were used in all events, and also the first time the games were held in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
Also, these games saw the first unique Games trademark logo: an emblem showing the Games emblem intertwined with a St Andrews Cross and a thistle. They were followed by the
1970 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games for wheelchair athletes.
Host selection
In August 1966, the bid vote was held in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
with 18 votes beat
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand with 11.
Participating teams
42 teams were represented at the 1970 Games.
(Teams competing for the first time are shown in bold).
History
In December of the following year, an appeal fund was launched, aiming to raise £200,000 towards the cost of running the games.
Medals by country
Medals by event
Athletics
Badminton
Bowls
Boxing
Cycling
Track
Road
Fencing
Swimming
;Men's events
;Women's events
Diving
Weightlifting
Wrestling
References
External links
Commonwealth Games Official Sitefootage of the Opening Ceremonyfrom Scotland on Screen archive
A Brief History– from the Delhi 2010 site
– Australian Commonwealth Games official website
{{Portal bar, Sports, Scotland
International sports competitions in Edinburgh
Commonwealth Games in the United Kingdom
British Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games by year
1970 in Scottish sport
1970s in Edinburgh
July 1970 sports events in the United Kingdom