The British Empire games came to known as British Empire & Commonwealth Games from 1954 and was held in Vancouver, in the province of British Columbia in Canada, from 30 July-7 August 1954.

The 5th edition of the Games placed Vancouver on a world stage and featured memorable sporting moments as well as outstanding entertainment, technical innovation and cultural events. The ‘Miracle Mile’, as it became known, saw both the gold medallist, Roger Bannister of England and silver medallist John Landy of Australia, run sub-four minute races in an event that was televised live across the world for the first time.

24 countries sent a total of 662 athletes to the Vancouver Games. The 9 sports in the games were athletics, boxing, cycling, lawn bowls, rowing, swimming and diving, weightlifting and wrestling.