Great Moments: Commonwealth Games

UVic theatre professor Mary Kerr served as production designer for the impressive opening and closing ceremonies, including a Thunderbird symbol that covered the entire infield.
UVic theatre professor Mary Kerr served as production designer for the impressive opening and closing ceremonies, including a Thunderbird symbol that covered the entire infield.

Commonwealth Games leave lasting legacy

In August, 1994, thousands of spectators, athletes and officials in Centennial Stadium witnessed a truly impressive display of sport, pageantry and Canadianism at the XV Commonwealth Games’ opening ceremonies — including a theatrical presentation by First Nations’ people that culminated in a Thunderbird symbol that covered the entire infield.

For the next 10 days, UVic was the Games’ hub as 2,257 athletes from 63 nations competed in 10 sports in the stadium (transformed to seat 30,000 rather than its usual 5,000) and other venues around Greater Victoria. Unbeknownst to those in the stands, disagreement about the track’s design required a unique modification: to satisfy the Games’ specifications on field turning radius, an extra lane was added to the eight-lane ring.

Among the legacies left by the Commonwealth Games is the athletes’ village off Finnerty Road. Now housing nearly 400 UVic residents a year, the complex was named the David and Dorothy Lam Family Student Housing Complex after the Games to honour the former lieutenant governor. Known unofficially as “the friendly games,” the competition and associated cultural events were broadcast around the world and fittingly concluded with thunderous applause, again at Centennial Stadium, for a parade of the thousands of volunteers.

In this section