It was the largest summit in modern Commonwealth history up to that point ( a title to be taken from it by the 1999 CHOGM ) , with forty-two heads of state or government . It was also attended by Ahmad Tejan Kabbah , who had recently been ousted as President of Sierra Leone . Most notable , however , was the emergence of the civil society fringe of the ' People 's Commonwealth ' , transforming a conference of policy-makers into a cultural celebration . For this reason , most participants and commentators considered it a success
1999 CHOGM
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1999
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1997