   the 1986 commonwealth games were held in edinburgh, scotland, between 24 july and 2 august 1986. they were the second games to be held in edinburgh. ==organisation and controversy== unlike the 1970 games in edinburgh, which were popular and successful, the 1986 games are ill-famed for the wide political boycott connected with them and the resulting financial mismanagement. the majority of commonwealth nations staged a boycott, so that the games appeared to be a whites-only event. thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countriesâlargely african, asian and caribbean statesâstayed away because of the thatcher government's policy of keeping britain's sporting links with apartheid south africa in preference to participating in the general sporting boycott of that country. consequently, edinburgh 1986 witnessed the lowest number of athletes since auckland 1950. bermuda was a particularly late withdrawal, as its athletes appeared in the opening ceremony before the association decided to formally withdraw before competition began.fraser, graham (2014-04-25). glasgow 2014: the bermuda boycott of 1986 that still hurts. bbc sport. retrieved on 2014-11-02. further controversy arose when it was revealed that through this much-reduced participation and the resultant decline in anticipated broadcasting and sponsorship revenues, the organising committee was facing a big financial black hole. the boycott ended any prospect of securing emergency government assistance. businessman robert maxwell stepped in to offer funding, taking over as chairman; but although he promised to invest Â£2m, his contribution was just Â£250,000. on 
1986_Commonwealth_Games 1986_in_Scottish_sport 1986_in_multi-sport_events 20th_century_in_Edinburgh Commonwealth_Games International_sports_competitions_hosted_by_Scotland Multi-sport_events_in_the_United_Kingdom Sport_in_Edinburgh