Why the 1986 Commonwealth Games was boycotted
In 1986, 32 of the 59 nations eligible to compete boycotted the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games. Here's why – and how Margaret Thatcher caused the crisis.
Image: The Commonwealth Games | Public Domain
Every four years, the Commonwealth Games brings together sportspeople from across the world. More specifically, these athletic competitors hail from the Commonwealth of Nations, a loose association of territories all once part of the British Empire.
The empire itself is now long gone, with many former states having shed many of their British links. One especially notable example is South Africa – which, in the mid-20th century, embraced apartheid policies, to the condemnation of other Commonwealth member states.
By the time of the 1986 Commonwealth Games, South Africa had left the Commonwealth. However, Margaret Thatcher’s controversial stance on South Africa led many states to boycott the competition that particular year, when Edinburgh was the host city. Sky HISTORY examines how Thatcher's stance on South Africa turned a sporting occasion into a political flashpoint.
South Africa’s complex relationship with the Commonwealth
The British firmly cemented control over South Africa in the aftermath of the Boer War (1899-1902). However, over the ensuing decades, South Africa was also granted more and more autonomy over its own affairs. In 1948, the Afrikaners then in power introduced apartheid, an institutionalised form of racial segregation empowering the state’s white minority over its black majority.
This extended from the top, determining who was permitted to take up roles in national politics, right down to the minutiae of day-to-day life. For example, South Africa’s black citizens were denied prestigious employment opportunities instead reserved strictly for whites. Black Africans were also kept physically distanced from their white counterparts, while even sexual relationships between members of different races were criminalised.
Apartheid was considered heinous by other Commonwealth nations, many of which had majority black populations. However, the National Party ruling South Africa would not budge, instead simply opting to withdraw the country from the Commonwealth in 1961. South Africa would not send any athletes to the Commonwealth Games for decades.
A change in the UK’s attitude towards South Africa?
Countries across the world, not just in the Commonwealth, hit South Africa with heavy economic sanctions for its insistence on preserving apartheid. In 1977, the UK was a signatory to the Gleneagles Agreement discouraging Commonwealth athletes from competing against those from South Africa.
However, Margaret Thatcher, who held the keys to 10 Downing Street from 1979 to 1990, spoke out against sanctioning South Africa. As far as the Prime Minister was concerned, the UK’s economic ties to South Africa were too lucrative to risk damaging. This attitude didn’t wash with other Commonwealth leaders, who soon saw the ideal opportunity to punish Britain for it.
The chaos of the 1986 Commonwealth Games
Over the preceding decades, the Commonwealth Games had been held in various cities across the Commonwealth. In 1986, the games were finally returning to the UK. The omens originally looked good. The selected host city, Edinburgh, had previously held the games to some success in 1970.
However, more and more Commonwealth nations started announcing boycotts of the event. The number of countries – including Kenya, Nigeria and India – deciding not to compete eventually reached 32. Most were African, Asian and Caribbean. One, Bermuda, participated in the opening ceremony only to subsequently decide to withdraw after all. The athletes were sent home.
All these no-shows left just 27 nations still in the competition and its organisers with a financial headache. There wasn’t nearly as much sponsorship and promotion money as originally expected. Media mogul Robert Maxwell pledged millions of pounds towards plugging this financial gap, but later turned out to have coughed up only £250,000.
The legacy of the 1986 Commonwealth Games boycott
It’s hard to precisely quantify how much impact, if any, the boycott actually had on British policy towards South Africa. In any case, within years of the games, the UK had finally lost patience with the diplomatic approach. So intense was the international pressure on South Africa’s politicians that they eventually gave way.
In 1990, South African president F.W. de Klerk released anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela from prison, where he had served 27 years following a politically motivated conviction for sabotage. The country’s first truly democratic elections (only white citizens had been permitted to vote previously) were held in 1994 and saw Mandela elected as president.
Though Edinburgh has not hosted the Commonwealth Games since, the Scottish city of Glasgow has twice – in 2014 and 2026. The latter, appropriately enough, marks the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Commonwealth Games.
For more on the moments when sport and politics have collided to change history, sign up to the Sky HISTORY newsletter. Every week, you'll receive the latest articles, episodes and more delivered straight to your inbox.
