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1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

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VI British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Original poster for the Games
Host cityCardiff, Wales
Nations35
Athletes1122
Events94
Opening18 July 1958
Closing26 July 1958
Opened byPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Queen's Baton Final RunnerKen Jones
Main venueCardiff Arms Park
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The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18 to 26 July 1958. It was the sixth edition of what would come to be known as the Commonwealth Games, the second Games held in the United Kingdom, and the second held under the name British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games and 23 countries and dependencies won medals, including, for the first time, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya and the Isle of Man. 178,000 tickets were eventually sold during the Games.[1]

The Cardiff Games introduced the Queen's Baton Relay, which has been conducted as a prelude to every Commonwealth Games ever since. England topped the medal table.[2]

Venues

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The British Empire and Commonwealth Games, including the opening and closing ceremonies, were held at the Cardiff Arms Park.

The following venues were used during the Games.[3]

Postage stamp

Participating teams

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Countries that participated

36 countries and territories[8] were represented (and 1,100 athletes),[9] being the largest number to date, with a significant number of teams competing for the first time at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

At Cardiff Arms Park, an anti-apartheid crowd protested at the all-white South African team; games organisers responded that non-white South Africans were ineligible as their associations were not affiliated to the international federations.[10] South Africa left the Commonwealth in 1961 and next appeared at the Games in 1994.[9]

Participating Commonwealth countries and territories:

Medal table

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  *   Host nation (Wales)

Medals won by nation, ranked by number of golds, with totals—sortable
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 England (ENG)29222980
2 Australia (AUS)27221766
3 South Africa (SAF)1310831
4 Scotland (SCO)55313
5 New Zealand (NZL)46919
6 Jamaica (JAM)4217
7 Pakistan (PAK)35210
8 India (IND)2103
9 Singapore (SIN)2002
10 Canada (CAN)1101627
11 Wales (WAL)*13711
12 Northern Ireland (NIR)1135
13 Bahama Islands (BAH)1102
Barbados (BAR)1102
15 Malaya (MAL)0202
16 Nigeria (NGR)0112
17 British Guiana (BGU)0101
 Uganda (UGA)0101
19 Kenya (KEN)0022
Southern Rhodesia (SRH)0022
 Trinidad and Tobago (TTO)0022
22 Ghana (GHA)0011
 Isle of Man (IOM)0011
Northern Rhodesia (NRH)0011
Totals (24 entries)9494105293

Sports

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References

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  1. ^ Williams, Stewart, ed. (1973). "Chapter 2: J.H.Morgan reviews fifty years of sport in Cardiff". The Cardiff Book: Volume I. Stewart Williams Publishers. pp. 35–36. ISBN 0-900807-05-9.
  2. ^ "Full record of all games finals". Western Mail. 28 July 1958. p. 25. Retrieved 11 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "The Week's Programme". Western Mail. 7 February 1957. p. 8. Retrieved 5 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Gilbraltarian attacked at Gymnasium". Belfast Telegraph. 21 July 1958. p. 12. Retrieved 5 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Scots in Wales to learn about Empire Games". Western Mail. 10 April 1958. p. 7. Retrieved 11 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Festival Wales plays host to Empire Games". Liverpool Daily Post (Welsh Edition). 22 April 1958. p. 3. Retrieved 11 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "A brief history of Sophia Gardens". ESPN. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  8. ^ "1958 British Empire & Commonwealth Games". thecgf.com/. Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  9. ^ a b Prior, Neil (19 July 2012). "Cardiff Empire Games 1958: A 'triumph' for Wales". BBC News. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  10. ^ Ramsamy, Sam (1991). "Apartheid and Olympism: on the Abolishment of Institutionalized Discrimination in International Sport". In Fernand Landry; Marc Landry; Magdeleine Yerlès (eds.). Sport, the Third Millennium: Proceedings of the International Symposium, Quebec City, Canada, May 21-25, 1990. Presses Université Laval. pp. 539–548: 540. ISBN 9782763772677. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
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Preceded by
Vancouver 		British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Cardiff
VI British Empire and Commonwealth Games 		Succeeded by
Perth
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