Host city | Cardiff, Wales | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nations participating | 35 | ||
Athletes participating | 1122 | ||
Events | 94 | ||
Opening ceremony | 18 July | ||
Closing ceremony | 26 July | ||
Queen's Baton Final Runner | Ken Jones | ||
Main venue | Cardiff 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 18–26 July 1958.
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.
The Cardiff Games introduced the Queen's Baton Relay, which has been conducted as a prelude to every British Empire and Commonwealth Games ever since.
The Commonwealth Games, including the opening and closing ceremonies, were held at the Cardiff Arms Park in the centre Cardiff. A new Wales Empire Pool was constructed for the event. The Sophia Gardens Pavilion was used for the boxing and wrestling events, and Maindy Stadium was used for cycling. 178,000 tickets were eventually sold during the Games.
36 countries and territories were represented (and 1,100 athletes), 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. South Africa left the Commonwealth in 1961 and next appeared at the Games in 1994.
(Teams competing for the first time are shown in bold).
Host nation (Wales)