The countdown is well and truly on, with today – March 17 – marking three years to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Australia has a storied history with the Games, having hosted five previous editions, starting with Sydney in 1938.
The British Empire Games at the time, Australia would go on to top the medal tally for the first time, claiming 25 gold, 19 silver and 22 bronze for a total of 66 medals.
Decima Norman MBE starred, winning five gold medals in track and field.
Perth hosted next, playing host to more than 800 athletes from 35 different nations when the Games returned to Australia in 1962.
The green and gold would go on to top the medal tally once more, securing 38 gold, 36 silver and 31 bronze medals, for a total of 105 – well ahead of England who finished in second with 78 medals.
Records would also be broken, with high-jumper Percy Hobson and boxer Jeff ‘Mitta’ Dynevor Australia’s first Indigenous Commonwealth Games gold medalists.
The Games also marked the inaugural Commonwealth Paraplegic Games, held two weeks prior as an initiative of Australian Sir George Bedbrook OBE, who was director of the Spinal Unit of Royal Perth Hospital.
The Games would lay the foundation for the eventual integration of para-sports at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games, a ground-breaking achievement that saw sports and events fully integrated into a major multi-event Games.
1982 saw Brisbane become the next host, setting records again for the number of athletes (1,583) and officials (571) participating, and nations and sports, 46 and 10, respectively.
Australia just topped the medal tally, beating England by one medal, while many will recall the much loved 13-metre winking kangaroo – Matilda – who proved the star of the Games during the Opening Ceremony.
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Melbourne welcomed the Commonwealth next, playing host to more than 4000 athletes from 71 Commonwealth Games Associations in March of 2006.
The sporting action took place at 13 venues around the city and took the Games to Victorian regional centres, with events being held at venues in Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Lysterfield and Traralgon.
Australia fielded a strong team of 417 athletes, once again topping the medal tally with an incredible 222 medals, of which 84 were gold, 69 silver and 69 bronze.
The Melbourne 2006 Games left a lasting legacy, with numerous records broken, as well as incredible sporting moments that have etched themselves into sporting history, as well as the minds of the nation.
The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games were the latest edition held in Australia, where for the fifth time straight at a home Games, Australia claimed the coveted top spot on the medal tally.
Phenomenal performances were recorded by the Australian Team across several sports and events, with the swimming team in particular shining in the pool.
Australia claimed six clean sweeps in the pool across a range of events on their way to ensure a record-breaking haul of 28 gold medals and an overall total of 73 medals.
It is undeniable that Australia puts on a show when the Commonwealth Games come to town, with the Australian Team topping the medal tally at all five home Games.
Victoria 2026 will be a Game-changer for the Commonwealth sport movement, with a vision to deliver an innovative and flexible model for the Games that is unprecedented in the event’s history.
Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton will welcome 20 sports across 24 disciplines, with Melbourne to host the Opening Ceremony.
The 2026 Games will be the 23rd edition of the major multi-sport competition, which first began in Hamilton, Canada in 1930, and will run from 17 to 29 March 2026.
