IT IS 65 years since the Commonwealth Games - then called the Empire Games - came to Barry.

The sporting event was held across Barry and Cardiff in July 1958.

Whilst most of the competitions took place in the Welsh captial, the weightlifting competition was held at Barry’s Memorial Hall, where the stage was strengthened in order to take the additional weights involved in the competition.

Now 65 years later, Mayor Cllr Ian Johnson has celebrated when the town held the weightlifting event.

He said: "Barry’s role in the 1958 Empire Games has almost been forgotten, including in the town itself where there is no record of the event.

“When BBC Wales wrote about a recent retrospective of the games, they said that all the venues had been demolished, or under threat, but didn’t mention the weightlifting which took place at the Memorial Hall in Barry.

“There were seven different men’s weightlifting competitions, ranging from Heavyweight to Bantamweight, won by competitors from six different countries, including England, Barbados, and Singapore amongst others. In total, competitors from ten countries won medals in Barry.”

Most of the Cardiff venues have since been demolished, with only the Maindy Velodrome still as it was in 1958.

The Memo Arts Centre, formerly known as Barry's Memorial Hall, has been operating for 91 years and remains a significant location in Barry. It is presently the most extensive multi-arts facility in Vale of Glamorgan.

He added: "The event didn’t pass without controversy. One competitor was disqualified before the tournament because he had been on an ITV programme called Adonis of Great Britain, so they said he wasn’t an amateur. They changed their mind in the end and allowed him to compete. 

“There was further controversy later, when heavyweight gold medal winner, Ken McDonald of England had his wallet and wedding ring stolen – from his jacket that he’d left on a chair in the main hall!  

 “The Commonwealth Games are one of the opportunities for individual sportspeople to represent Wales, such as David Davies who won both gold and bronze in the 2006 Games in Australia for which he was awarded Freedom of Barry, or my school friend Claire Hamer who was a gymnast at the 1994 Games in Canada. I hope that the games will continue.”