1994 Commonwealth Games

15th Commonwealth Games

Logo of 1994 Commonwealth Games
Host city	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Motto	Catch The Spirit
Nations participating	63
Athletes participating	2,557
Events	events in 10 sports
Opening ceremony	18 August 1994
Closing ceremony	28 August 1994
Officially opened by	Elizabeth II
Officially closed by	Prince Edward
Queen's Baton Final Runner	Myriam Bédard
Main venue	Centennial Stadium
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The 1994 Commonwealth Games were held in Victoria, in the province of British Columbia in Canada, from 18 to 28 August 1994.

The XV Commonwealth Games (French: XV Jeux du Commonwealth) marked South Africa's return to the Commonwealth Games following the apartheid era, and over 30 years since the country last competed in the Games in 1958. It was also Hong Kong's last appearance at the games before the transfer of sovereignty from Britain to China.

The official mascot of the Games was an anthropomorphic killer whale named "Klee Wyck". "Klee Wyck", meaning "the laughing one", was a nickname given to Canadian painter and sculptor Emily Carr by the Ucluelet First Nation.

Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, lawn bowls, shooting, weightlifting, and wrestling.

Three bids for the 1994 Commonwealth Games were submitted. Victoria, New Delhi, and Cardiff were the bidding cities. On 15 September 1988, the Commonwealth Games Federation voted to award Victoria the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

Victoria 1994 was considered by many in the Commonwealth movement to be a minimalistic version of the games. After the high memories of Auckland's games four years previously, many considered Victoria to be a mild let-down. Some facilities were old and decrepit such as Victoria Memorial Arena. Other venues were temporary; none more so than the large scaffolding-built stands that totally transformed the University of Victoria's Centennial Stadium.