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

The Commonwealth Games 2022 gets underway later this year, and the excitement around Birmingham is building.

Teams from all over the world will be soon landing into the second city, ready for 11 days that will be packed with sport.

The games are a tradition which dates back to 1930, meaning they have been a historical installation on world sport for over 90 years.

When was the first Commonwealth Games?

Between 1930 and 1950, the games were known as The British Empire Games.

The Commonwealth Games have been a feature of the sporting calendar every four years for almost a century.

The first games were held in Hamilton, Canada, way back in 1930.

Eleven countries sent a total of 400 athletes to the Hamilton 1930 British Empire Games. Women competed in only the swimming events.

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.

When was the last Commonwealth Games?

The Commonwealth Games take place every four years in countries that belong to the Commonwealth.

With the games taking place this year, the last games took place in 2018 and were held in Queensland, Australia.

The host nation Australia topped the medal table for the fourth time in the past five Commonwealth Games, winning the most golds (80) and most medals overall (198). England and India finished second and third respectively.

Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, British Virgin Islands and Dominica each won their first Commonwealth Games medals.

How many times has the Commonwealth Games been held in the UK?

The 2022 games in Birmingham will be the 22nd Commonwealth Games to take place, and the seventh times a UK city has played host.

Edinburgh, London, Glasgow, Cardiff and Manchester have hosted the games since 1934.

Below is the full list of host countries, dating back to 1930. Note the 12 year gap between 1938 and 1950 for the Second World War.

1930 - Hamilton - Canada

1934 - London - England

1938 - Sydney - Australia

1950 - Auckland - Australia

1954 - Vancouver - Canada

1958 - Cardiff - Wales

1962 - Perth - Australia

1966 - Kingston - Jamaica

1970 - Edinburgh - Scotland

1974 - Christchurch - New Zealand

1978 - Edmonton - Canada

1982 - Brisbane - Australia

1986 - Edinburgh - Scotland

1990 - Auckland - New Zealand

1994 - Victoria - Canada

1998 - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

2002 - Manchester - England

2006 - Melbourne - Australia

2010 - Delhi - India

2014 - Glasgow - Scotland

2018 - Gold Coast - Australia

When did the UK last host the Commonwealth Games?

The last time the UK hosted the games was in 2014 when the Scottish city of Glasgow played host.

71 nations and territories competed in 17 sports over 11 days, 23 July to 4 August 2014.

Most sports took place in three compact venue clusters within the city borders, with the shooting programme held at Carnoustie, the diving events in Edinburgh and the triathlon races at Strathclyde Country Park.

The last time the games were held in England was 2002 in Manchester, with the main arena being the future home of Manchester City FC