Commonwealth Games History: Editions, Host Countries & All-Time Medal List

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Commonwealth Games History: The Commonwealth Games, one of the world's largest multi-sport events, have served as an excellent platform for athletes to showcase their talent. Ranked among the most prominent competitions in the sporting world, they follow only the Olympics and the Asian Games in significance.

Held every four years, these games feature participation from Commonwealth nations across the globe. Let us explore how many times the Commonwealth Games have been held to date, where they have taken place, and which country leads the medal tally.

Commonwealth Games Origin and History

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The Commonwealth Games began in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada. At that time, they were known as the 'British Empire Games'.

First Edition: In 1930, approximately 400 athletes from 11 countries participated in 59 events across 6 sports.
India's Debut: India participated for the first time in the second Commonwealth Games held in London in 1934.
Cancelled Games: The games scheduled for 1942 and 1946 could not be held due to World War II.

Total Number of Commonwealth Games Editions Held Till Date

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Following the recent Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland (July 23 to August 2, 2026), the event has been successfully organized a total of 23 times to date.

Complete List of Commonwealth Games Host Countries (1930 - 2026)

Below is the complete list of all 23 editions of the Commonwealth Games held to date, along with their host cities and countries:

Edition	Year	Host City	Host Country
1	1930	Hamilton	Canada
2	1934	London	England
3	1938	Sydney	Australia
-	1942	Montreal (Cancelled-World War II)	Canada
-	1946	Cardiff (Cancelled-World War II)	Wales
4	1950	Auckland	New Zealand
5	1954	Vancouver	Canada
6	1958	Cardiff	Wales
7	1962	Perth	Australia
8	1966	Kingston	Jamaica
9	1970	Edinburgh	Scotland
10	1974	Christchurch	New Zealand
11	1978	Edmonton	Canada
12	1982	Brisbane	Australia
13	1986	Edinburgh	Scotland
14	1990	Auckland	New Zealand
15	1994	Victoria	Canada
16	1998	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia
17	2002	Manchester	England
18	2006	Melbourne	Australia
19	2010	Delhi	India
20	2014	Glasgow	Scotland
21	2018	Gold Coast	Australia
22	2022	Birmingham	England
23	2026	Glasgow	Scotland

Also Read: CWG 2030: India Secures Official Hosting Rights in Ahmedabad

All-Time Commonwealth Games Top 10 Medal Tally

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Australia has always dominated the history of the Commonwealth Games. India also holds the fourth position in this all-time medal table.

The all-time medal table for the top 10 countries following the 2026 Glasgow Games is as follows:

Rank	Country (CGA)	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total Medals
1	Australia	1,071	879	823	2,773
2	England	802	828	802	2,432
3	Canada	529	568	612	1,709
4	India	215	207	180	602
5	New Zealand	189	246	307	742
6	Scotland	145	152	244	541
7	South Africa	144	143	157	444
8	Kenya	94	84	92	270
9	Nigeria	92	91	112	295
10	Wales	84	114	167	365