A 130-page programme for the Commonwealth Games has accidentally listed England as an African country.

The programme, which includes profiles on the 71 Commonwealth Games nations, labels England’s capital as “Banjul” with a population of two million.

Banjul is the capital city of The Gambia, a small West African country bordered by Senegal.

'Banjul calling': Official Commonwealth Games program puts England in Africa https://t.co/PCXhdm3dMA pic.twitter.com/dzsJHMAuV9 — Evelyn Knight (@EvelynKnightFX) April 4, 2018

The glossy pamphlet also features messages from prime minister Malcolm Turnbull alongside an official welcome from the Queen.

A spokeswoman for Goldoc, the company responsible for running this year’s games, has apologised for a formatting error in the official programme which will be available for purchase at merchandise stalls and news agencies ahead of tonight’s opening ceremony on the Gold Coast.

“Goldoc is aware of a formatting error in the England team overview section of the official GC2018 programme. The formatting error occurred when The Gambia was reinstated back in to the Commonwealth and subsequently the Games only a few weeks ago.”

“Goldoc was determined to include The Gambia in the official programme and with the late addition and update to the programme, the page required reformatting at the last minute at the printers, causing the error. We’re delighted The Gambia has joined the Games and apologise for the reformatting error in the program.”

It is not the first time an embarrassing blunder occurred at an international sporting event. In 2003, the wrong Spanish national anthem was played at the opening ceremony of the Davis Cup tennis final in Melbourne.

Instead of playing the official Marcha Real, a solo trumpter performed a version of the Himno de Riego – a song dated from the time prior to the fascist dictatorship of Spanish leader Francisco Franco.

At the world shooting championships in Kuwait in 2012, a Kazakh gold medalist was serenaded with a spoof national anthem from the film Borat, which features lyrics about prostitutes and potassium exports.

On at least two occasions at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the incorrect Chinese flag was hoisted prompting numerous complaints.