The 2018 Commonwealth Games are well underway in Australia where teams from 71 nations and territories have come together on Queensland’s Gold Coast to compete against one another in 275 events across 19 sports with 852 medals to be won.
As the host of the games, Australia has the most athletes but England, Wales, Scotland, New Zealand, India, Jamaica, Malayasia and the rest of the Commonwealth countries have sent more than 6,600 athletes to the Gold Coast. 15,000 volunteers will be working at the Commonwealth Games and 1.5 billion people around the world are expected to tune in for the action.
Whether you’re interested in swimming, cycling, gymnastics, rugby or basketball there is a sport for everyone at the 21st Commonwealth Games that began on April 4 and will run until April 15.
Naturally, Australia also has the most comprehensive coverage. But don't let that put you off if you live in the UK, Canada, India or anywhere else in the world. We'll show tell you how to catch all the action, wherever you live.
Who is streaming the Commonwealth Games 2018?
The Commonwealth Games 2018 will be streamed exclusively on the Seven Network in Australia. This is a free to air station in the country and anyone with a television can watch the games on all three of their channels: 7, 7TWO and 7Mate. Additionally Australians can download the 7CommGames app from Google Play or the Apple Store to watch the games and there is also a website version of the app that will provide desktop and laptop users with the same content.
You can find out much more about timings, events and extra content by heading to our guide on how to watch the Commonwealth games in Australia.
Live stream the Commonwealth Games outside Australia
If you don’t live in Australia and want to watch the games live, then you’ll need to download and set up a VPN (unless you're in the UK that is - more on which below). This way you can change your IP address to an Australian one and access all of Seven’s coverage of the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast 2018. And the best thing is, it's really easy to do...
How to watch the Commonwealth Games in the UK
If you live in the UK the BBC will be streaming most of the coverage from the 2018 Commonwealth Games on TV, radio, the BBC Sport website, as well as its mobile app.
Live coverage will be available on TV from around midnight on BBC One, BBC Red Button and BBC Two. You can watch the highlights of the games on BBC Two and BBC Four as well a catch-up service on the BBC Red Button.
However, if you want to catch all of the full coverage offered in Australia, you can still use a VPN to watch the games on 7Plus. Just follow the steps above.
Commonwealth Games: you questions answered about Gold Coast 2018
What are the Commonwealth Games?
The Commonwealth Games are an international multi-sport event that takes place every four years amongst the Commonwealth countries, all of which are linked in some way to Great Britain.
The first edition of the games was held in 1930 in Ontario, Canada and the games have taken place every four years since except in 1942 and 1946 when they were not held because of World War II.
Which countries compete in the Commonwealth Games?
All of the countries that make up the Commonwealth of Nations - a loose association of former British colonies and current British Overseas Territories - compete in the games.
This year 71 teams will take part in the games with dependent UK territories such as Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, Falkland Island, Bermuda and others will compete under their own flags and Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland will also have their own teams separate from the usual Team GB.
The great news is that wherever you are in the world and whoever you're cheering for, you can use a VPN to catch the action.
Where are the Commonwealth Games being held?
This year the Commonwealth Games will be held in the Australian city of Gold Coast in the country’s second largest state of Queensland. The Gold Coast is a vibrant city of more than 500,000 people and is an hour’s drive from the state capital of Queensland, Brisbane. The opening and closing ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games will take place in the Carrara Stadium, as will many of this year’s events.
What events are included in the Commonwealth Games?
The 6,600 plus athletes in this year’s games will compete for medals in 18 sports. These are aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby sevens, shooting, squash, table tennis, triathlon, weightlifting, wrestling and for the first time beach volleyball. Also, in a first for any major multisport event, an equal number of men’s and women’s medals will be awarded.
You can check out the entire schedule on the Gold Coast 2018 website to see the full list of events and find out when your favorite athletes will be competing. There is also an official Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games app available on iOS and Android to make keeping track of the games even easier.
Stay safe during the Commonwealth Games 2018
