1986 Commonwealth Games - Organisation and Controversy

Organisation and Controversy

Despite the popular success of the previous 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, the 1986 Games are remembered with considerable notoriety due to a large political boycott and financial mismanagement.

The Games were boycotted by a majority of countries, largely African, Asian and Caribbean states, and making it appear as a whites-only event. Of the 59 eligible countries, 32 boycotted the Games due to the Thatcher government's attitude towards British sporting links with apartheid-era South Africa as opposed to the sporting boycott of South Africa. It resulted in the lowest number of athletes since the 1950 Commonwealth Games.

Further controversy came about when it was revealed that due to the lack of participation and associated decline in anticipated broadcasting and sponsorship revenues, the Organising Committee was facing a serious financial black hole, and the boycott ended any prospect of securing emergency government assistance. Businessman Robert Maxwell stepped in to offer funding, taking over as chairman, but despite promising to invest £2m, Maxwell's contribution was just £250,000. On a budget of £14m, the Games opened with a deficit of £3m, which later grew to £4.3m, and instead of putting enough money into the event to save it, the new chairman of the Games asked creditors to forgo half the payment due to them to keep the event out of liquidation. The debt was finally paid off in 1989, with the city of Edinburgh losing approximately £500,000.

Several participants were excluded because they breached the amateurism rules, most notably lawn bowlers Phil Skoglund from New Zealand and Willie Wood from Scotland, both of whom have competed in subsequent games.