Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event held every four years involving the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations. The first such event, then known as the British Empire Games, was held in 1930. The name changed to British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, to British Commonwealth Games in 1970 and assumed the current name of the Commonwealth Games in 1978.

As well as many Olympic sports, the Games also include some sports that are played mainly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls, rugby sevens and netball.

Unlike other regional games of this type (i.e., Pan-American Games, Asian Games, All-Africa Games) which usually attract second-tier athletes, the Commonwealth Games attracts the top athletes of member nations of the Commonwealth, thus making this competition world-class in the true sense of the word (second only to the Olympic Games). Attendance is typically around 5,000 athletes, which puts these games in third place behind the Olympics and the World Police & Fire Games.

The three constituent countries of the United Kingdom — England, Scotland and Wales, in addition to Northern Ireland — send separate teams to the Commonwealth Games, and individual teams are also sent from crown dependencies such as the Isle of Man and Jersey.

Only six nations have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games will be held in Melbourne,
Commonwealth Games Melbourne Australia between March 15 and March 26. It will be the largest sporting event ever to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics the city hosted.

Early concerns have arisen about the large cost of staging the Games, with projected costs likely to be over 1 billion Australian dollars and a high likelihood the state government will have to cover the expense. The cost has been described in local media as excessive for what many regard as a non-premier sports event. Melbourne's premier sporting ground, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), is currently being redeveloped in preparation for the Games. An athlete's village in the inner suburb of Parkville will house approximately 7,000 athletes and support staff during the Games, and will then be turned into commercial housing with a distinctly eco-friendly image. The creation of this village has attracted controversy, with critics claiming it was created by alienating public parkland, while proponents maintain that is the renewal of an otherwise derelict inner-city area.

A vast majority of venues for the Games are already built and have hosted major events and many of these venues will host a number of different sports concurrently.

The site for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be the magnificent internationally recognised MCG which was also used during Melbourne's 1956 Olympic Games.

The mascot for the games is Karak a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (a threatened species).
The events
Aquatics
Athletics
Badminton
Basketball
Boxing
Cycling
EAD Events
Gymnastics
Field Hockey
Lawn Bowls
Netball
Rugby Sevens
Shooting
Squash
Table Tennis
Triathlon
Weightlifting

Origins of the Commonwealth Games
A sporting competition bringing together the members of the British Empire was first proposed by Reverend Astley Cooper in 1891 when he wrote an article in The Times suggesting a "Pan-Britannic-Pan-Anglican Contest and Festival every four years as a means of increasing the goodwill and good understanding of the British Empire".

In 1911, the Festival of the Empire was held in London to celebrate the coronation of King George V. As part of the festival an Inter-Empire Championships was held in which teams from Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom competed in events such as boxing, wrestling, swimming and athletics.

In 1928, Bobby Robinson of Canada was asked to organize the first British Empire Games. These were held in Hamilton two years later.

Opening Ceremony Traditions Commonwealth Games
From 1930 through 1950, the parade of nations was led by a single flagbearer carrying the Union Jack, symbolising Britain's leading role in the British Empire.
Since 1958, there has been a relay of athletes carrying a baton from Buckingham Palace to the Opening Ceremony. This baton has within it the Queen's Message of Greeting to the athletes. The baton's final bearer is usually a famous sporting personage of the host nation.
All other nations march in English alphabetical order, except that the first nation marching in the Parade of Athletes is the host nation of the previous games, and the host nation of the current games marches last.
Three national flags fly from the stadium on the poles that are used for medal ceremonies: Previous host nation, Current host nation, Next host nation.
The Military is more active in the Opening Ceremony than in the Olympic Games. This is to honour the British Military traditions of the Old Empire.

Boycotts
The Commonwealth Games, like the Olympic Games, has also suffered from political boycotts. Nigeria boycotted the 1978 Games in protest of New Zealand's sporting contacts with apartheid-era South Africa, and 32 of 59 nations from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean boycotted the 1986 Games due to the Thatcher government's attitude to South African sporting contacts. Boycotts were also threatened in 1974, 1982, and 1990 because of South Africa.

Events
The Empire Games flag was donated in 1930 by the British Empire Games Association of Canada. The year and location of subsequent games were added until the 1950 games. The name of the event was changed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and the flag was retired as a result.
British Commonwealth Games seal
Commonwealth Games Federation seal, adopted in 2001
British Empire Games
1930 British Empire Games - Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
1934 British Empire Games - London, England
1938 British Empire Games - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
1950 British Empire Games - Auckland, New Zealand

British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games - Cardiff, Wales
1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games - Perth, Western Australia, Australia
1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games - Kingston, Jamaica
 
British Commonwealth Games
1970 British Commonwealth Games - Edinburgh, Scotland
1974 British Commonwealth Games - Christchurch, New Zealand

Commonwealth Games
1978 Commonwealth Games - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
1982 Commonwealth Games - Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
1986 Commonwealth Games - Edinburgh, Scotland
1990 Commonwealth Games - Auckland, New Zealand
1994 Commonwealth Games - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
1998 Commonwealth Games - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2002 Commonwealth Games - Manchester, England
2006 Commonwealth Games - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
2010 Commonwealth Games - Delhi, India

2014 Commonwealth Games Bid Cities
Abuja, Nigeria
Glasgow, Scotland
Halifax, Canada

List of Sports at the Commonwealth Games
The current regulations state that a minimum of ten and no more than fifteen sports must be included in a Commonweath Games schedule. There is a list of core sports, which must be included, and a further list of approved sports from which the host nation choses which to include. The host nation may also apply for the inclusion of other team sports to the CGF General Assembly, like the Melbourne organising committee did with Basketball for the 2006 Games.

The current core sports consist of Athletics, Aquatics (swimming, diving and synchronised swimming), Lawn Bowls, Netball (for women) and Rugby sevens (for men). These will all remain core sports until at least the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The approved list of sports also includes archery, badminton, billiards and snooker, boxing, canoeing, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, judo, rowing, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, tenpin bowling, triathlon, weightlifting, wrestling and sailing. Some of these are often included in the programme, while others, like billiards and sailing, have not yet made it into the Games.

There is also a requirement to include some events for Elite Athletes with a Disability (EAD). This was introduced in the 2002 Games.

Below, the years in brackets show when the sports appeared at the games.

2006 Commonwealth Games
Aquatics (1930–)
Swimming
Synchronised swimming
Diving
Water polo
Athletics (Men: 1930–, Women: 1934–)
Badminton (1966–)
Basketball (2006–)
Boxing (1930–)
Cycling (1934–)
Gymnastics (1978, 1990–)
Hockey (1998–)
Lawn bowls (1930–, but not 1966)
Netball (1998–)
Rugby sevens (1998–)
Shooting (1966, 1974–)
Squash (1998–)
Table tennis (2002–)
Triathlon (2002–)
Weightlifting (1950–

Events for Athletes with a Disability — EAD (2002–)
Athletics
Swimming
Table tennis
Powerlifting

Events on hiatus
Archery (1982)
Cricket (1998)
Fencing (1950–1970)
Freestyle wrestling (1930–2002, except 1990 and 1998)
Judo (1990, 2002)
Rowing (1930, 1938–1962, 1986)
Ten-pin bowling (1998)