1966 Commonwealth Games
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 | |
| Host city | Kingston, Jamaica |
|---|---|
| Nations | 34 |
| Athletes | 1,316 (inc. officials) |
| Events | 110 events in 10 sports |
| Opening | 4 August 1966 |
| Closing | 13 August 1966 |
| Opened by | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh |
| Main venue | Independence Park |
The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. The opening ceremony was the first Games to be opened in the evening.[1] The event was followed by the 1966 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games for wheelchair athletes. Jamaica remains the only host nation of a Commonwealth Games that did not win at least one gold medal in its own games.
Two sports; lawn bowls and rowing were dropped from the Games due to lack of facilities and were replaced by the debut sports of badminton and shooting. A record 38 countries competed at the Games.[2]
Host selection
Kingston was elected host by the CGF in Rome, Italy, during the 1960 Summer Olympics.
| City | Country | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston |  Jamaica |
17 |
| Edinburgh | .svg){kind=small} Scotland |
12 |
| Salisbury | .svg){kind=small} Rhodesia and Nyasaland |
5 |
Venues
- Athletes' Village – University of the West Indies at Mona
- Athletics, Opening and Closing Ceremonies – National Stadium in Independence Park
- Badminton – Kingston Convention Hall
- Boxing – National Stadium and Sabina Park[3]
- Cycling (track) – National Stadium in Independence Park
- Cycling (road) –
- Diving – National Aquatic Centre in Independence Park
- Fencing – Excelsior School Auditorium
- Shooting – Twickenham Park Range, Spanish Town[4]
- Swimming – National Aquatic Centre in Independence Park
- Weightlifting - Ward Theatre[2][5]
- Wrestling – Kingston Convention Hall
Participating teams
34 teams were represented at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
(Teams competing for the first time are shown in bold).
Participating Commonwealth countries and territories:
Antigua and Barbuda—first appearance
Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
British Honduras
Canada
Ceylon
England
Fiji
Ghana
Gibraltar
Guyana
India
Isle of Man
Jamaica (host)
Jersey
Kenya
Malaysia
Mauritius
New Zealand
Nigeria
Northern Ireland
Pakistan
Papua and New Guinea
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Scotland
Sierra Leone
Singapore
South Arabia—first appearance
Tanzania—first appearance
Trinidad and Tobago
Uganda
Wales
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Medals by country
* Host nation (Jamaica)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England (ENG) | 33 | 24 | 23 | 80 |
| 2 |  Australia (AUS) | 23 | 28 | 22 | 73 |
| 3 | Canada (CAN) | 14 | 20 | 23 | 57 |
| 4 | New Zealand (NZL) | 8 | 5 | 13 | 26 |
| 5 | Ghana (GHA) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 | |
| 7 | Pakistan (PAK) | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 8 | Kenya (KEN) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| 9 | India (IND) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| Nigeria (NGR) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | |
| 11 | Wales (WAL) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 12 |  Malaysia (MAS) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 13 | Scotland (SCO) | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| 14 | Northern Ireland (NIR) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 15 | Isle of Man (IOM) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Jamaica (JAM)* | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| 17 | Bahamas (BAH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bermuda (BER) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Guyana (GUY) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Papua New Guinea (PNG) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 21 | Uganda (UGA) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 22 | Barbados (BAR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (22 entries) | 111 | 110 | 120 | 341 | |
Sports
External links
- "Kingston 1966". Commonwealthsport.com. Commonwealth Sport.
- 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games – Australian Commonwealth Games (archived 21 May 2007)
References
- ↑ "Empire Games Moonlight opening ceremony". Birmingham Daily Post. 4 August 1966. p. 25. Retrieved 11 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- 1 2 3 "38 countries set Games record". Belfast Telegraph. 4 May 1966. p. 22. Retrieved 7 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "British Empire and Commonwealth Games Sabina Park & National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica August 4-13, 1966". Amateur Boxing. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ↑ "Commonwealth Shooting reports" (PDF). WTSF. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
- ↑ "Louis Martin's win thrills Jamaicans". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 10 August 1966. p. 16. Retrieved 11 December 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
| Preceded by Perth |
British Empire and Commonwealth Games Kingston VIII British Empire and Commonwealth Games |
Succeeded by Edinburgh |
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