With less than two years to go until a home Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022, it’s time to look back at the last two times Team England competed on British shores in Glasgow and Manchester in 2014 and 2002 respectively.

Manchester 2002

18 years ago on August 4th swimmer Karen Pickering had the honour of carrying the England flag during the closing ceremony of the 2002 Games to bring the curtain down on the last time Team England competed on home soil.

11 days before a record number of 444 Team England athletes walked out for the Opening Ceremony at the City of Manchester Stadium and saw Queen Elizabeth II open the Games which would see a total of 165 medals won for Team England over the 17 sports.

Zoe Baker set a world record in the 50-metre breaststroke on her way to securing the biggest win of her career.

Beth Tweddle also took her first collection of major international medals, winning two silvers in the Team and All-Round events as well as a Gold on the Uneven Bars.


Team England also had great success in the Athletics arena as seasoned track and field athetes also secured major honours on home soil as well. Paula Radcliffe won her first major gold medal in the 5,000 metres and triple jumper Jonathan Edwards took gold too. This meant he simultaneously held World, Olympic, European and Commonwealth titles as well as the World Record.

A dramatic ending to the Games saw England take gold in the men’s 4x100 metre and 4x400 metre relays. Setting an identical time to the Jamaican foursome in the 4x100 and edging out the Welsh outfit by one hundredth of a second in the 4x400 metre relay. 


Despite the home support, England finished second in the medals table behind Australia, as Team England racked up 54 Gold, 51 Silver and 60 Bronze medals which was boosted for the first time by para-sports counting towards the final medals table for the first time in any major international multi-sport event. 

Glasgow 2014

12 years on from Manchester, Team England returned to British soil, just north of the border in Glasgow for the Opening Ceremony at Celtic Park.  With athletics events and the closing ceremony taking place in the South of the city at Hampden Park.

Team England took advantage of the short journey north, by topping the medals table with 174 medals, including 58 gold medals, 59 silver medals and 57 bronze medals. With hosts Scotland finishing in fourth.

The headlines for Team England came in gymnastics where Claudia Fragapane stole the show with four gold medals – the most of any English athlete at a single Games in 80 years. Max Whitlock took home four medals himself, including Gold in the men’s team, all-round and vault with a bronze on the parallel bars.


A number of Olympic champions also made their marks on the Games, fresh off making their marks two years on a home stage at London 2012. With Sir Bradley Wiggins, Alistair Brownlee and Laura Kenny all stepping onto the podium once again two years on.

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