After nearly two decades successfully averting political stay-away and protests because of apartheid and sanction-busting sports tours to South Africa, the XIII Games, the second to be staged at Edinburgh, was to become known as “the Boycott Games”. Sadly, despite there being so many fond memories of the Scottish hospitality offered in 1970, 32 Commonwealth nations decided that they could not attend, because of their opposition to apartheid in sports.
Participating Nations: 26 Nations
Participants: 1,662 athletes and 461 officials.
Sports/Disciplines: Ten sports were featured at the second Edinburgh Games – athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, lawn bowls, rowing, shooting, weightlifting and wrestling.