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 Phi ...

were held in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, 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 East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, 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. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. 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 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

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 The Edmonton Gardens was the first indoor hockey arena built in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was originally built as Edmonton Stock Pavilion in 1913, and held 5,200 spectators after its 1966 renovations. It was home to the World Hockey Associat ...

: Boxing *

Argyll Velodrome The Argyll Velodrome is an outdoor velodrome in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The velodrome is x wide with a 37 degree banked concrete surface. History The velodrome was built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games and later also hosted the track cycling ...

: 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 N ...

: 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 Site

A Brief History
from 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 in Canada Commonwealth Games by year

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

August 1978 sports events in Canada 1970s in Edmonton