It has been refreshing to hear that there are many people who simply cannot get enthused about the Commonwealth Games and know that you are not alone.
With the way of the world today it is amazing that the various nations have agreed to compete, as to many the word ‘Commonwealth’ seems to conjure up images of subjugation.
This is not that surprising as the idea for a “pan-Britannic festival of culture and sport” is said to have come from an Anglican clergyman called J Astley Cooper, who first floated the idea in a series of public letters published in 1891. His idea became a reality in 1930 when the first Empire Games were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Those first games were organised by sportswriter Bobby Robinson of the Hamilton Spectator, who after attending the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam as manager of the Canadian track and field team, was inspired to create a similar event for the British Empire.
Only 11 countries that fell under the control of what was then known as the British Empire attended the Games, and not surprisingly there were none from Asia and Africa, and only Bermuda and British Guiana from the West Indies. India were invited but declined the invitation.
India did attend the 1934 Games as did South Africa and Southern Rhodesia; two African nations that at the time were under white rule.
The 1934 event was supposed to have been hosted by Johannesburg, but the Games were taken away and given to London after Canada had raised concerns about the way their black athletes were likely to be treated in a racially segregated South Africa.
This would have been the first time that Africa hosted the Commonwealth Games as they are now known, after Durban won the hosting rights as the sole bidder for the 2022 event. This would have been only the second time a Commonwealth republic would have hosted the Games, following Delhi, India, in 2010.
The games were set to open on 18 July 2022, deliberately coinciding with the birthday of the late South African president, Nelson Mandela. However, in February 2017 it was reported that Durban might be unable to host the games due to financial constraints. This was confirmed a month later on 13 March 2017 when the CGF stripped Durban of their rights to host the Games. Birmingham in England was given the hosting rights of the 22nd edition of the Games instead.
Canada has hosted the Games four times, England and New Zealand three times, Scotland and Wales twice, Malaysia and Jamaica once. Australia has been host five times and in 2026 will step up again for a sixth time, although rather than having a host city, for the first time ever it will be a host state.
Last week The Guardian quoted from the Observer newspaper in 1930 describing how the first Empire Games were largely about making Britain look good. “The British empire has been likened unto a family of nations: the mother country and her offspring scattered the world over … it is wise to maintain the idea of unity by careful cultivation, lest the attrition of time take effect.”
It has been claimed and with some validation that the Commonwealth Games has served to “sportswash” its reputation, constantly promoting a “friendly Games” between nations whose abiding connection is that they were all colonised by the same one!
Whereas the Pan American Games, the Asian Games and similar events see nations from clearly defined regions competing against each other, the Commonwealth Games has nations from all parts of the globe that were at one time under British Rule competing.
Yet one feels now that these games are there purely for breast-beating purposes rather than the actual sporting contests, as far too many are now so predictable in their outcomes that it makes a mockery of the competition.
The medal table is not a reflection of pure athletic ability but more on how much money these leading nations invest in sport compared to their opponents.
No one likes to watch a sporting contest where the outcome is almost guaranteed. If they do tune in they do so in the hope that there may be an upset.
In 2018 Australia (198) England (136) New Zealand (46) and Canada (82) won 462 medals out of a total of 840 medals up for grabs. That is 55% of the medals being won by four nations when 71 nations competed. If we include Scotland and Wales who compete with England as Great Britain come the Olympic Games, the tally rises to 542 medals or 64% of the medals won.
This shows the disparity between those with top sporting programs and funded athletes, and those from countries whose resources are not even close to being compared. The current medal tally at the time of writing sees these same four nations having won 65% of the medals that have already been awarded.
There is a place for other sporting contests such as the South East Asian Games. Many of the nations that are members of this region rarely win Olympic or World Championships. Even at the Commonwealth Games those who fall under that umbrella only win an occasional medal, so the SEA Games sees these nations compete at a level that is far more even than these other global events, and that is why it attracts huge television audiences and great interest.
If one looks at how the 198 medals won by Australia at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 translated come the Tokyo Olympic Games, Australia came home with 46 medals in total. The 80 Gold medals from the Gold coast went down to 17. England’s combined effort with Wales and Scotland from the Gold Coast of 216 medals dropped to just 65 medals in total.
Of course this is to be expected as the Olympic Games is a global event and it witnesses the best in the World competing.
Which is why It is remarkable to see how many people become caught up in the hype surrounding a medal at the Commonwealth Games. The competition in many events is a long way beneath World Championships and Olympic Games, and therefore many of the individuals and teams from these nations should medal, especially when one considers how much their Governments invest into their sporting programs.
So are the games and all the hype there to justify that expenditure? To convince voters that this is money well spent?
Or is it because as we all know a country that wins at sport is a happy nation, and the focus shifts from the economy or other issues.
The feeling of nationalism is indispensable, and in the right hands can play a huge part in nation-building. Next to religion sport is the only common thread that has the ability to pull people together. It helps develop a feeling of patriotism and unity. History is full of examples where sport has been used for this purpose.
The marketers have tried to play their part in making the Commonwealth Games relevant, we are supposed to believe that the commonwealth stands for shared values such as “equality, humanity, destiny.” Yes there is humanity, but in truth there is very little equality when it comes to the nations competing and the money invested in athletes, as for destiny, it is clear even before the Games commenced where many of the gold medals were headed in various events. Rather than ‘destiny,’ maybe ‘inevitability’ would have been a better choice.
Politically it is hard to fathom where the Commonwealth Games sit in 2022. Here is an event that has been promoted, some would even go so far as to claim was sold to the public as being a celebration of common values, yet that is hard to comprehend when some of those nations were the ones previously being exploited.
In truth do these games in fact say more about a nations sense of itself? That it needs to be top of the heap, that it needs to beat its breast and try and show how great it is, like a bully in a playground?
Of course no one likes a boast or a bully, and maybe that is why the Commonwealth Games has lost some of its lustre. Maybe that is why some are not that bothered about them or the results. Maybe it is because sports fans are more educated than people give them credit and the majority realise that a medal at the Commonwealth Games is no guarantee of a medal at an Olympic Games or a World Championships, in fact the numbers that achieve this are very low. On the world stage a Commonwealth Games medal carries very little weight.
Throw in the political aspect in relation to what the Commonwealth stands for and one wonders how long the Games will last once Queen Elizabeth’s rein comes to an end. As was voiced at the last Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting ‘she is the glue’ that keeps them together.
At the end of the day it will no doubt come down to money. Despite Birmingham boasting record ticket sales to locals prior to the Games television companies were not prepared to pay this time around what they paid four years ago for the rights, in part due to the Pandemic but also due to dropping viewer numbers. So if the television stations that paid for the rights for Birmingham 2022 do not get the viewers that they forecast, they will not be signing up again for the Games, which then puts their future in jeopardy. Which all goes to makes Victoria’s bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games a bold one, and raises the question as to whether any other nation will put their hand up for 2030.
One thing is for sure to survive the Games need a makeover, and desperately need to be less predictable and the contests more even.
