How often are the Commonwealth Games? When was the last one and how many times has it been held in the UK

The XXII Commonwealth Games is being held in Birmingham this year and is a multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth.

The games start this week and will see five new sports integrated into the core categories.

At the Gold Coast in 2018, athletics, badminton, boxing, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby sevens, squash, swimming and weightlifting were all named as core sports but this year will see road cycling, judo, triathlon, table tennis and wrestling added to the list.

Former Commonwealth medallists as well as Olympians will be running the show as Britain prepares to host the historic Games for the third time in its history.

Max Whitlock and Beth Tweedle head up the panel of analysts which will also feature Olympic gold medallists Michael Johnson, Denis Lewis and Jessica Ennis-Hill.

Sir Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington and Ellie Simmons will also be amongst those leading the commentary when the Games commence.

The Commonwealth Games was the first fully inclusive international multi-sport event after athletes with a disability were included as full members of their national teams.

Additionally, in 2018, the Games became the first global multi-sport event to feature an equal number of men’s and women’s medal events.

So how often do these remarkable Games take place and when will we see the next event in Britain?

How often do the Commonwealth Games take place?

The Commonwealth Games are held every four years.

They were first held in 1930 and two Games were missed due to the Second World War. 1942 and 1946 were meant to be Commonwealth Games but the war prevented the event from taking place.

The Games have grown from the early days in 1930 from featuring 11 countries and 400 athletes to now featuring nearly 7,000 athletes from 72 nations and territories.

How often have the Commonwealth Games been hosted in England?

This year will mark the third time the Games have been hosted by the England.

London hosted the Games in 1934 and Manchester then hosted the event 68 years later in 2002.

Where will the next Commonwealth Games be hosted?

Australia’s Victoria will host the next Games which will take place in 2026. Melbourne will be one of the major host cities, despite hosting the Games back in 2006.

Victoria’s Premier, Daniel Andrews, announced after the decision was made public that: “This will be a Commonwealth like no other. We promised we wouldn’t be doing a re-run of 2006, as successful as that was.

“This is also about creating jobs - some nearly 4,000 jobs during the Commonwealth Games and some 3,000 enduring jobs thereafter.”

Who has hosted the Games the most times?

2026 will mark the sixth time Australia have hosted the Commonwealth Games, making them the nation to have hosted the event the most number of the times.

Canada are next having hosted the event four times. It is also predicted that they will host the Games again in 2030.

Nine nations in total have hosted the Games in the past, with the list also including the likes of Wales, New Zealand, Jamaica, Malaysia and India.

Scotland have hosted the Games three times: 1970, 1986 and 2014.

When do the Games begin?

The Games will commence on Thursday 28 July 2022 and conclude on Monday 8 August.

The BBC will provide the televised coverage of the Commonwealth Games.