COMMONWEALTH GAMES—FRIENDLY GAMES series -2

Festival of Empire

Suresh Kumar Lau
Associate Professor
University of Delhi

The Commonwealth Games developed from the earlier Empire Games. The Empire Games were designed specifically to bring together the nations of the British Empire in a friendly competition. The British Empire Games was brainwork to be inspired by the Reverend Astley Cooper (1858-1930). In July 1891 he wrote in “Great Britain” magazine and later on October 31, 1891 in ‘The Times’ with a plan for festival “to draw closer the ties between Nations of the Empire.” Yorkshireman, the Reverend Cooper became involved in Olympic movement in Britain, but his notion generated a great deal of interest in Britain and the British Colonies. The idea took a shape when a Festival of Empire was held at the Crystal Place, London on June 24, 1911 as a part of the coronation celebrations of His Majesty King George V (1865-1936), second son of Edward VII. As part of the festival an Inter-Empire Championship was held in which teams from Australasia (Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania), Canada, South Africa, United Kingdom competed in events such as Athletics (5 events), Swimming (2 events), Boxing (1 event) and Wrestling (1 event). Canada was declared the overall winner by achieving one point more than the United Kingdom.
The Friendly Games
It was the initiative of Norton Hervey Crow which brought British Empire Games dreams to reality on September 25, 1924 at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg. N. Hervey Crow, in his concluding address to the Amateur Athletic Union after 19 years as Secretary said ‘you could consider the advisability of taking the initiative in all-British Empire Games to be held in between Olympic Games.’ On 27th September, 1924 the AAU Committee Unanimously passed crow’s idea. The first city to resolve it could handle the games and their organization was Hamilton, Ontario, then with population of some 15,5,000. Their viability study was approved. The principle was that the games were to be less rigorous — the Friendly Games was to be the motto.
In 1928, Melville Mark (Bobby) Robinson of Canada was asked to organise the first British Empire Games. The first games, called the British Empire Games took place in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada. From 1930 to 1950 (no games were held in 1942 and 1946), the games were known as the British Empire Games; from 1954 to 1962 as the British Empire and Commonwealth Games, from 1966 to 1974 as the British Commonwealth Games and since 1978 as the Commonwealth Games. The festival of sports has undergone name changes that reflects the growing political maturity of fellow member countries.