The 1978
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
were held in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 P ...
were held in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Quebec. They were boycotted by
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
-era South Africa, as well as by
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
, in protest at alleged Canadian hostility towards the government of
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...
.
The Bid Election was held at the
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
.
This was the first Commonwealth Games where a computerised system was used to handle ticket sales.
These were the first Commonwealth Games to be named ''Commonwealth Games'', having dropped ''British''.
The Games were opened by
Queen Elizabeth II for the first time since becoming Queen in 1952.
Host selection
Participating teams
46 teams were represented at the 1978 Games.
(Teams competing for the first time are shown in bold).
Medals by country
Medals by event
Athletics
Badminton
Bowls
Boxing
Cycling
;Track
;Road
Diving
Gymnastics
Shooting
;Pistol
;Rifle
;Shotgun
Swimming
;Men's events
;Women's events
Weightlifting
Wrestling
Venues
*
Commonwealth Stadium
Commonwealth Stadium is an open-air, multipurpose stadium located in the McCauley neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has a seating capacity of 56,302, making it the largest open-air stadium in Canada. Primarily used for Canadian fo ...
: Athletics, Opening and Closing Ceremonies (built new for the games)
*
University of Alberta Arena: Badminton
* '
Commonwealth Bowls'': Lawn Bowling (built new for the games)
*
Edmonton Gardens: Boxing
*
Argyll Velodrome: Cycling (built new for the games)
*
Northlands Coliseum
Northlands Coliseum is a now-unused indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, situated on the north side of Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and ...
: Gymnastics
* '
Strathcona Shooting Range'': Shooting (built new for the games)
*
Kinsmen Aquatic Centre: Swimming and Diving (built new for the games)
*
Jubilee Auditorium: Weightlifting
*
University of Alberta Gym: Wrestling
References
External links
Commonwealth Games Official SiteA Brief Historyfrom the Delhi 2010 site
– Australian Commonwealth Games official website
''Going the Distance,'' an NFB documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:1978 Commonwealth Games
Sports competitions in Edmonton
International sports competitions hosted by Canada
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
Commonwealth Games in Canada
Commonwealth Games by year
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
Commonwealth
August 1978 sports events in Canada
1970s in Edmonton