1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

Multi-sport event in Vancouver, Canada June 2026 January 2023 V British Empire and Commonwealth Games BECG1954 logo.jpg Vancouver, Canada 24 662 91 30 July 1954 7 August 1954 Earl Alexander of Tunis Bill Parnell Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Empire Stadium IV VI thumb|right|350px|Empire Stadium Vancouver July 1954 thumb|right|250px|Opening ceremony.Attribution:Province newspaper The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 30 July to 7 August 1954. This was the fifth edition of the event that would eventually become known as the Commonwealth Games, the second post-war Games, the second Canadian Games after the inaugural event in Hamilton and the first event since the name change from British Empire Games took effect in 1952. Other bids to stage the Games were received from Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton.https://www.tvo.org/article/outbid-how-toronto-lost-the-olympics-again-and-again-and-again TVO Today | Current Affairs Journalism, Documentaries and Podcasts www.tvo.org The main venue was the Empire Stadium, which had been specifically constructed for the games at the cost of £500,000. Work on the 25,000 seated stadium started in October 1953 and the keys were handed over to Stan Smith (General chairman of the games) on 12 July 1954.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19540713/005/0005 Empire Stadium Ready Hull Daily Mail 13 July 1954 British Newspaper Archive subscription 20 September 2025 The games were attended by 24 nations and 662 competitors.http://www.thecgf.com/games/intro.asp?yr=1954 Commonwealth Games Federation – 1954 Commonwealth Games – Introduction thecgf.com https://web.archive.org/web/20170615095819/http://thecgf.com/games/intro.asp?yr=1954 15 June 2017 dead 2017-05-06 It was the first time that the games gained a television audience, when CBC and NBC transmitted pictures to an estimated 100 million North American viewers. Recordings of the games were also shown on the BBC Television Service,Radio Times listings - BBC Genome website beginning a consistent association between the BBC and the Commonwealth Games which only ended in 2026. It was at these games that the "Miracle Mile" took place between Roger Bannister and John Landy at the Empire Stadium. This was the first time these two (and at that time the only two) sub-four-minute mile runners appeared in the same race, and also the first time two runners broke four minutes in the same race. On the same afternoon, Jim Peters, the holder of the world best time for the marathon, entered the stadium 17 minutes ahead of his nearest rival, but collapsed on his final lap, and never completed the race. Venues https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000619/19540607/120/0006 Growing Interest in Empire Games Birmingham Daily Post 7 June 1954 British Newspaper Archive subscription 20 September 2025https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2014/07/31/1954-Commonwealth-Games/ The Mega-event that Set a Pace for Vancouver The Tyee 31 July 2014 24 September 2025 Opening and closing ceremonies: Empire Stadium, Hastings Park Aquatics: Empire Pool, University of British Columbia, West Point Grey Athletics: Empire Stadium Boxing: Exhibition Forumhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ifIdVpG6JtcC&dat=19540803&printsec=frontpage&hl=en Wednesday at the BEG Vancouver Sun 3 August 1954 14 Google Newspapers 20 September 2025 Cycling (track): Empire Oval (Broadway Bowl) Cycling (road): 1155 East Broadway Fencing: Lord Byng School Gym, West Point Grey Lawn bowls: West Point Grey Bowling Club, New Westminster Lawn Bowling Clubhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ifIdVpG6JtcC&dat=19540802&printsec=frontpage&hl=en Tuesday at the BEG Vancouver Sun 2 August 1954 12 Google Newspapers 20 September 2025 Rowing: Vedder Canal, Chilliwack Weightlifting: Exhibition Garden, Hastings Park Wrestling: Kerrisdale Arena Athletes' Village: University of British Columbia, West Point Grey Participating teams thumb|250px|Countries that participated 24 teams were represented at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. 18em 23px Australia Bahamas colonial: first appearance Barbados 1885: first appearance Bermuda 1910 British Guiana Canada 1921 (host) 23px England 23px Fiji Gold Coast: first appearance 23px Hong Kong 23px India 23px Jamaica 23px Kenya: first appearance 23px New Zealand 23px Nigeria NIR Northern Ireland Northern Rhodesia 1939: first appearance 23px Pakistan: first appearance Scotland Scotland 23px South Africa Southern Rhodesia Trinidad and Tobago colonial 23px Uganda: first appearance Wales 1953 Wales Medal table thumb|upright|Statue in Vancouver commemorating the "Miracle Mile" between Roger Bannister and John Landy Medals won by nation, ranked and sortable flagCGF 1954 23 24 20 20 11 17 16 6 13 SAF 1928 9 20 14 yes CAN 1921 7 7 5 6 2 5 2 2 1 2 2 0 TTO colonial 2 1 0 1 4 3 1 3 3 NGR colonial 1 3 2 1 1 5 WAL 1953 1 0 0 JAM 1906 0 1 0 BAR 1885 0 1 0 British Hong Kong 1910 0 1 0 UGA colonial 0 0 1 Sports Aquatics Diving Swimming Athletics Boxing Cycling Fencing Lawn bowls Rowing Weightlifting Wrestling References External links "Vancouver 1954". Commonwealthsport.com. Commonwealth Sport. "Results and Medalists—1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games" https://web.archive.org/web/20220922092553/https://thecgf.com/results/games/3033 22 September 2022 . Thecgf.com. Commonwealth Games Federation. British Empire and Commonwealth Games, a National Film Board of Canada documentary about the 1954 Games. Auckland British Empire and Commonwealth GamesVancouverV British Empire and Commonwealth Games Cardiff Sports 1950s Canada British Empire and Commonwealth Games British Empire and Commonwealth Games Category:International sports competitions hosted by Canada Category:Commonwealth Games in Canada British Empire and Commonwealth Games British Empire and Commonwealth Games British Empire and Commonwealth Games Category:1950s in Vancouver British Empire and Commonwealth Games