The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in all events, and also the first time the event was held in Scotland.
Also, the event saw the first unique Games trademark logo: an emblem showing the Games emblem intertwined with a St Andrews Cross and a thistle. The event was followed by the 1970 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games for wheelchair athletes. The 1970 Games was one of the most successful in the history of the event.
thumb|right|250px|The Meadowbank Stadium
Host selection
In August 1966, the bid vote was held in Jamaica. The successful bidder was Edinburgh, Scotland with 18 votes beating Christchurch, New Zealand, with 11. In 1967, an appeal fund was launched, aiming to raise £200,000 towards the cost of running the games.
{| class="wikitable"
|+1970 British Commonwealth Games bidding results
|-
! scope="col" | City
! scope="col" | Country
! scope="col" | Votes
|-
|Edinburgh
|link=[[:File:Flag of Scotland (navy blue).svg|21x21px]] Scotland
|18
|-
|Christchurch
|21x21px New Zealand
|11
|}
Participating teams
thumb|220px|Countries that participated
42 teams were represented at the 1970 Games.<br />(Teams competing for the first time are shown in bold).
- 23px Antigua
- 23px Fiji
- : first appearance
- : first appearance
- 23px Hong Kong
- : first appearance
- 23px Mauritius
- Papua and New Guinea
- (host)
- 23px Sierra Leone
- : first appearance
- : first appearance
Venues
thumb|right|350px|Pollock Halls of Residence and the Royal Commonwealth Pool
The Meadowbank Sports Centre was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games, at a cost of £2.8 million. It was opened by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent on 2 May 1970.
- Athletes' Village – Pollock Halls of Residence
- Athletics, Opening and Closing Ceremonies - Meadowbank Sports Centre
- Diving – Royal Commonwealth Pool
- Fencing – Meadowbank Sports Centre