<P> Nine nations have hosted the Commonwealth Games . 18 cities in seven countries have hosted the event . Australia has hosted four Commonwealth Games (1938, 1962, 1982, 2006) and will host for the fifth time in 2018 . Canada has hosted four Commonwealth Games (1930, 1954, 1978, 1994). Two cities have hosted Commonwealth Games more than one time: Auckland (1950, 1990) and Edinburgh (1970, 1986). </P> <P> Only six countries have attended every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales . Australia has been the highest achieving team for twelve games, England for seven, and Canada for one . </P> <P> A sporting competition bringing together the members of the British Empire was first proposed by John Astley Cooper in 1891, when he wrote an article in The Times suggesting a "Pan-Britannic - Pan-Anglican Contest and Festival every four years as a means of increasing goodwill and good understanding of the British Empire". The John Astley Cooper Committees worldwide (e.g. Australia) helped Pierre de Coubertin to get his international Olympic Games off the ground . In 1911, the Festival of the Empire was held at The Crystal Palace in London to celebrate the coronation of George V. As part of the Festival of the Empire, an Inter-Empire Championships was held in which teams from Australasia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom competed in athletics, boxing, wrestling and swimming events . </P> <P> The 1930 British Empire Games were the first of what later become known as the Commonwealth Games, and were held in Hamilton, in the province of Ontario in Canada from August 16--23, 1930 . In 1928, Melville Marks Robinson of Canada was asked to organise the first British Empire Games . Eleven countries sent a total of 400 athletes to the Hamilton Games . The opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics took place at Civic Stadium . The participant nations were Australia, Bermuda, British Guyana, Canada, England, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales . The Hamilton Games featured six sports: athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing, swimming and diving and wrestling and ran at a cost of $97,973 . Women competed in only the aquatic events . Canadian triple jumper Gordon Smallacombe won the first ever gold medal in the history of the Games . </P>

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