<P> Their creation was inspired by the Inter-Empire Championships, as a part of the Festival of Empire, which were held in London, United Kingdom in 1911 . Melville Marks Robinson founded the games as the British Empire Games which were first hosted in Hamilton in 1930 . During the 20th and 21st centuries, the evolution of the games movement has resulted in several changes to the Commonwealth Games . Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Commonwealth Winter Games for snow and ice sports for the commonwealth athletes, the Commonwealth Paraplegic Games for commonwealth athletes with a disability and the Commonwealth Youth Games for commonwealth athletes aged 14 to 18 . The first edition of the winter games and paraplegic games were held in 1958 and 1962 respectively, with their last edition held in 1966 and 1974 respectively and the first youth games were held in 2000 . The 1942 and 1946 Commonwealth Games were cancelled because of the second world war . </P> <P> The Commonwealth Games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which also controls the sporting programme and selects the host cities . The games movement consists of international sports federations (IFs), Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs), and organising committees for each specific Commonwealth Games . There are several rituals and symbols, such as the Commonwealth Games flag and Queen's Baton, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies . Over 5,000 athletes compete at the Commonwealth Games in more than 15 different sports and more than 250 events . The first, second, and third - place finishers in each event receive Commonwealth Games medals: gold, silver, and bronze, respectively . Apart from many Olympic sports, the games also include some sports that are played predominantly in Commonwealth countries but which are not part of the Olympic programme, such as lawn bowls, netball and squash . </P> <P> Although there are currently 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 71 teams currently participate in the Commonwealth Games, as a number of dependent territories compete under their own flags . The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom--England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland--also send separate teams . </P> <P> Nineteen cities in nine countries (counting England, Wales, and Scotland separately) have hosted the event . Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games five times (1938, 1962, 1982, 2006 and 2018); this is more times than any other nation . Two cities have hosted Commonwealth Games more than once: Auckland (1950, 1990) and Edinburgh (1970, 1986). </P>

How many countries are there in commonwealth games