1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
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Attribution:Province newspaper
The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 30 July to 7 August 1954. This was the fifth edition of the event that would eventually become known as the Commonwealth Games, the second post-war Games, the second Canadian Games after the inaugural event in Hamilton and the first event since the name change from British Empire Games took effect in 1952.
The main venue was the Empire Stadium, which had neen specifically constructed for the games at the cost of £500,000. Work on the 25,000 seated stadium started in October 1953 and the keys were handed over to Stan Smith (General chairman of the games) on 12 July 1954.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The games were attended by 24 nations and 662 competitors.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was the first time that the games gained a television audience, when CBC and NBC transmitted pictures to an estimated 100 million North American viewers.<ref name=TT/>
It was at these games that the "Miracle Mile" took place between Roger Bannister and John Landy at the Empire Stadium. This was the first time these two (and at that time the only two) sub-four-minute mile runners appeared in the same race, and also the first time two runners broke four minutes in the same race. On the same afternoon, Jim Peters, the holder of the world best time for the marathon, entered the stadium 17 minutes ahead of his nearest rival, but collapsed on his final lap, and never completed the race.
Venues
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- Opening and Closing Ceremonies: Empire Stadium, Hastings Park
- Aquatics: Empire Pool, University of British Columbia, West Point Grey
- Athletics: Empire Stadium
- Boxing: Exhibition Forum<ref name=WBEG>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Cycling (track): Empire Oval (Broadway Bowl)<ref name=TBEG/>
- Cycling (road): 1155 East Broadway
- Fencing: Lord Byng School Gym, West Point Grey<ref name=TBEG/>
- Lawn bowls: West Point Grey Bowling Club, New Westminster Lawn Bowling Club<ref name=TBEG>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Rowing: Vedder Canal, Chilliwack
- Weightlifting: Exhibition Garden, Hastings Park<ref name=TBEG/>
- Wrestling: Kerrisdale Arena<ref name=WBEG/>
- Athletes' Village: University of British Columbia, West Point Grey
Participating teams
24 teams were represented at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
Australia- Template:Flag: first appearance
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England
Fiji- Template:Flag: first appearance
Hong Kong
India
Jamaica
Kenya: first appearance
New Zealand
Nigeria- Template:Flagicon Northern Ireland
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Pakistan: first appearance- Template:Flagicon Scotland
South Africa- Template:Flag
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Uganda: first appearance- Template:Flagicon Wales
Medal table

Sports
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References
External links
- "Vancouver 1954". Commonwealthsport.com. Commonwealth Sport.
- "Results and Medalists—1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games". Thecgf.com. Commonwealth Games Federation.
- British Empire and Commonwealth Games, a National Film Board of Canada documentary about the 1954 Games.
| Preceded by {{#if:Auckland|Auckland|—}} |
British Empire and Commonwealth Games Vancouver V British Empire and Commonwealth Games{{#if:| {{{curr}}}}} |
Succeeded by {{#if:Cardiff|Cardiff|—}} |
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