The idea for an Empire Games was first mooted by the Rev Astley Cooper in 1891 when he wrote to the Times proposing a ‘Pan Britannic-Pan Anglican Contest and Festival’ to take place every four years with the aim of ‘increasing the good will and good understanding of the British Empire’.

It took another 39 years for his dream to become reality, but since the first Empire Games took place in Hamilton, Canada in 1930, they have evolved into one of the premier events in the World’s Sporting calendar.

Hosting an event on such a large scale was a major organisational and logistical challenge for the City of Manchester. Not only did it have to accommodate and cater for thousands of athletes, it also had to cope with a major influx of visitors as people from all over the Commonwealth descended on the city to support their national teams.

The Key Statistics have been included to give you a clearer idea of just how much effort was required in terms of human resources, materials, services and pure good will to make the Games the success it was. From the number of tickets sold to the weight of bananas consumed in the Athletes’ Village, the essential facts and figures are all here.

The Commonwealth itself is a hugely diverse family of nations, each with its own unique history and culture. Its members range from some of the worlds most populous countries, like India with almost a billion inhabitants, to small island nations such as Tuvalu, which has just 11,000.

Under ‘A Wealth of Information’ you will find out some of the more notable facts about the Commonwealth and its member states, along with details and statistics from several of the previous Games in which they took part.

After the success of the Games a clarion cry went out yet again for the bright flames of the Olympic torch to be carried to Manchester’s door.
Perhaps at this point we need to introduce a sense of perspective
The Commonwealth Games may be the second largest multi-sport event in the World but it is still some way behind the Olympics in scale.
The event is at least nine times larger in terms of capacity required and the number of athletes competing would effectively double.

So there may be a little more distance to cover if Manchester attempts a future bid for the ultimate event. For now it’s enough to let the numbers take their lap of honour. Statistics that were used to sustain the doubters are now lined up on the podium proudly awaiting their honours.
There were many who scoffed when the city was awarded the Commonwealth Games. They said Manchester couldn’t handle such a major event. The city proved the cynics wrong. It may yet do so again.