The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England between 28 July and 8 August 2022.[2] It was the third and seventh time England and the United Kingdom hosted the Commonwealth Games, respectively.[3]
The 2022 Commonwealth Games was the largest Commonwealth Games ever held, with 72 participating nations and over 5,054 athletes competing in 280 events in 20 sports.[4] It was also the first major multi-sport event to have more events for women than men and had the largest integrated para-sport programme in the history of the Commonwealth Games with 8 sports.[5][6]
Birmingham was announced as the host city on 21 December 2017.[7] The event marked the last time that the Commonwealth Games were held under Queen Elizabeth II prior to her death on 8 September of that year, which was exactly one month after the conclusion of the Games.[8]
Two cities initially launched bids for the games; Durban, South Africa, and Edmonton, Canada. Edmonton withdrew its bid in February 2015, leaving Durban as the only bid to go forward to CGF General Assembly in September 2015.[9]Durban initially secured the right to host the games, as they were the sole bidder for the event. The city previously considered bidding for the 2020 or 2024 Summer Olympics, but later dropped the idea as it wanted to focus on the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[10] It would have marked the first time the games were held in Africa and the second time a Commonwealth republic would have hosted, following Delhi, India, in 2010. The games were set to open on 18 July 2022, coinciding with the birthday of the late South African president, Nelson Mandela.[11] It was reported in February 2017 that Durban might be unable to host the games due to financial constraints.[12] This was confirmed one month later on 13 March 2017 when the CGF stripped Durban of their rights to host the Games.[13]
The Library of Birmingham was lit into different colours to celebrate the winning of the 2022 Commonwealth Games
The bidding process for the 2022 Commonwealth Games was relaunched in March 2017 where English cities Birmingham and Liverpool expressed their interests in hosting the Games.[14] On 14 March 2017, Manchester also expressed an interest in hosting the Games.[15]
By April 2017, the British Government asked city councils to submit proposals for hosting the 2022 Games.[16] Only Birmingham and Liverpool submitted official applications to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.[17] London declined to bid, as it was focusing its efforts on preparing for the World Athletics and Para Athletics Championships.[18] On 27 April 2017, Manchester City Council announced that Manchester would not bid for the Games but could co-host the Games with other English cities.[19] In early September 2017, Birmingham was selected over Liverpool for the recommended bid for England.[20][21]
The CGF announced that the deadline for the submission of bids was 30 September 2017 and its executive board was expected to announce the host by the end of 2017. Commonwealth Games England submitted the Birmingham bid before the deadline to the CGF to host the 2022 Games.[22] However, it was announced that the bid was not fully compliant, and the bidding process was extended until 30 November 2017.[23] The CGF had 170 questions regarding Birmingham's bid.[24] On 21 December 2017, Birmingham was awarded for the 2022 Games as Durban's replacement host.[2] Louise Martin, president of the CGF, made the official announcement at a press conference at the Arena Academy in Birmingham.[25]
The Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games (BOCCG) is responsible for the planning and operational delivery of the Games.[26] This includes sport, venue and competition management, ticket sales, all ceremonies and the Queen's Baton Relay. The headquarters of the organising committee is located in One Brindleyplace building and has taken up the office until December 2022.[27]
In March 2018, the BOCCG paid £25 million ($35 million) fee to the CGF for the right to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The fee included the £20 million ($28 million) for the Games hosting charges and £5 million ($7 million) for the development work in the Commonwealth.[28]
In July 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed John Crabtree as Chair of the BOCCG.[29] In January 2019, Ian Reid was announced as chief executive officer of the BOCCG.[30] On 6 June 2019, the British Government introduced the Commonwealth Games bill which ensured the prohibition of unauthorised sales of Games tickets, effective flow of transport around Games venues, complete protection of commercial rights, and compliance with financial propriety rules by the government's funding of the BOCCG.[31] The bill received royal assent and was passed into law as the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Act 2020 on 25 June 2020.[32]
In June 2020, it was announced that the entire schedule of the Games would be offset by one day to reduce conflicts with sporting events rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the UEFA Euro 2020 (held on 11 June to 11 July 2021), the 2020 Summer Olympics (held on 23 July to 8 August 2021), the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 (held 6 to 31 July in England; the opening ceremony time would have conflicted with one of the semifinal matches), and the final days of the 2022 World Athletics Championships (held from 15 to 24 July).[33] All athletes and officials are required to test negative for COVID-19 on a PCR test before departure and upon arrival; infections during the Games will be handled on a case-by-case basis, with athletes not necessarily required to withdraw or publicly disclose their infection. Commonwealth Games Australia considered the protocols to be less stringent and more "relaxed" than expected, and stated that it planned to impose stricter biosecurity protocols on its athletes to ensure their safety.[34][35][36]
Athletes' village
On 11 August 2020, the BOCCG announced that the athletes and team officials will be housed in three ‘campus’ villages close to competition venues at the University of Birmingham, the University of Warwick, and the NEC Hotel Campus. Around 1,600 athletes and officials are set to be accommodated at the NEC Hotel Campus, 1,900 at the University of Warwick, and the principal village with 2,800 at the University of Birmingham.[37]
Transport
The A34 flyover in Perry Barr has been demolished in favour of a dual carriageway at ground level, cycle path and improved public transport services which were approved by Birmingham City Council in October 2019 under its £27.1 million scheme.[38]
The city council announced in January 2020 that the existing National Express Bus Depot in Perry Barr will be demolished as the depot site would be used to construct the phase two of the athletes’ village.[39] A replacement depot will be constructed on a largely council-owned land on nearby Aston Lane,[40] at a cost of £16 million, eight times the original estimate.[41]
Perry Barr railway station after renovation.
The University railway station, which serves the University of Birmingham, was planned to be renovated and was expected to be complete in time for the Games. The station would make way for the University of Birmingham, which was due to host hockey and squash events for the Games.[42][43][44] The new station was not finished in time for the event.[45] The Perry Barr railway station was renovated as part of the £30.9 million project in Perry Barr and opened on May 29, 2022, serving as the gateway for the Alexander Stadium.[46]
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) will provide the city's first continuous cross-city bus route in time for the Games. The new Sprint bus route will run an express service along the A34 and A45 between Walsall and Birmingham Airport and Solihull to Walsall via the city centre.[47] The service will be zero-emission with priority signals and extended bus lanes, along with "a swift boarding experience" to improve journey times and reliability.[48] In February 2020 it was announced that the West Midlands Combined Authority Board was planning to approve the £88 million funding and delivery schedule for Sprint in advance of the Games, to offer commuters and the Games visitors services to key venues including Alexander Stadium, Arena Birmingham and the Resorts World Arena.[49][50]
At the time of submission of the bid to the CGF, the bid committee announced that the event would cost £750 million.[51] On 25 June 2019, the British Government announced that the event will cost £778 million. The British Government will cover 75% (£594 million) and Birmingham City Council will cover the remaining 25% (£184 million).[52] The budget is lower than the £967 million spent on the Gold Coast 2018, but higher than the £543 million spent on the Glasgow 2014. It is set to be the most expensive sporting event in the UK since the 2012 Summer Olympics in London which cost £8.8 billion.[53] The real cost will be published after completion.
Ticketing
Over 1.3 million tickets were sold for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which made the event the most attended Commonwealth Games ever to take place in the United Kingdom.[54] A ticket ballot for local residents opened on 14 July 2021, with the main public ticket ballot running from 8 to 30 September 2021.[55]
Security
The West Midlands Police said around 3,000 officers would be deployed to patrol the 2022 Commonwealth Games. 1,000 of these were to come from West Midlands Police and 2000 from a "mutual aid" arrangement with other UK forces.[56] Additionally, private drones were banned over a no-fly zone and 55 police dogs were also part of the security plan.[57]
Festival
The 2022 Commonwealth Games was accompanied by a six-month long cultural event called the Birmingham 2022 Festival. It had been billed as "the biggest celebration of creativity ever seen in the region" and was taking place in the host city and throughout the West Midlands. With more than 200 events planned, it was one of the biggest cultural programmes ever hosted during the Commonwealth Games. Events took place before and after the 2022 Games, which took place between July 28 and August 8, 2022, from March to September 2022.[58][59]
The baton held by Governor-General of New Zealand Cindy Kiro and viceregal consort Richard Davies.
The Queen's baton of the 2022 Commonwealth Games was unveiled 29 September 2021. Designed as a collaboration between Birmingham Open Media, Raymont-Osman Product Design, Maokwo and Kajul,[60] it is constructed using lost-wax casting, 3D Printing, copper plating and CNC machining.[61] It incorporates copper, aluminum, and brass metals symbolising medals, and a strip of platinum in observance of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. It also contains a 360-degree camera, an LED lighting system tied to a heart rate monitor (and displaying different effects when held by two people), and sensors to record environmental conditions—whose data will be analysed by a team at the University of Birmingham following the relay.[62][63][64]
Laura Nyahuye, who led the team of five artists at Maokwo, stated that the baton was designed to "relate" to the countries and residents of the Commonwealth, and reflect the "authenticity and honesty" of its journey; these goals were met by avoiding the use of precious metals, and through its use of copper—which is designed to oxidise and develop a teal patina over the course of the relay.[63]
The relay began on 7 October 2021 at Buckingham Palace in London, and will last for 294 days—travelling through 72 Commonwealth nations and territories. After placing her message inside the baton, Queen Elizabeth II presented it to British Paralympic athlete and cyclistKadeena Cox. During the opening ceremony, the baton was delivered to Charles, Prince of Wales, who read the Queen's message to officially open the Games.[65][66]
The opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games were held at Alexander Stadium on 28 July 2022. Director Iqbal Khan stated that the ceremony would aim to showcase the "vivid and vibrant confidence" of Birmingham. It was headlined by Birmingham-based new wave band Duran Duran, while Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath–who is also a Birmingham native–performed alongside Soweto Kinch during a segment of the ceremony.[68]
A new edition of the Commonwealth Games Charter came into effect for these Games. In addition to the ten core sports that were part of Gold Coast 2018 – athletics, badminton, boxing, hockey, lawn bowls, netball (for women), rugby sevens, squash, swimming and weightlifting – five new sports will be integrated into the core sports: road cycling, judo (previously optional), triathlon, table tennis, and wrestling. The charter also mandates that a number of parasports events (i.e. sports for elite athletes with disabilities) must be integrated within four core sports: athletics, lawn bowls, swimming and weightlifting (the lattermost is actually represented by a variation of powerlifting).
The charter also establishes the list of optional sports and disciplines that can be chosen by the organisation of each edition: archery (recurve), basketball (3x3 or 5x5), beach volleyball, cycling (mountain bike and track), rhythmic gymnastics, and shooting (clay target, full bore, small bore and pistol). This same rule also establishes that the following events for athletes with disabilities are optional: wheelchair basketball (3x3), para track-cycling, para-table tennis and para-triathlon. Including compulsory and optional sports (disciplines), there shall be no more than 4 team sports on the programme of a Commonwealth Games. If basketball (3x3) is selected from the pool of optional sports, basketball (wheelchair para 3x3) becomes an obligatory event (or vice versa), in which case the sport of basketball shall be considered as one team sport. In cases when cricket is selected from the pool of optional sports, wheelchair basketball also becomes a part of the programme and can be an exception to the 4 team sports limit. Respecting local demands, an extra sport or some extra events can be included in this list, but they have to be approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation two years before that edition is held.[133] The current rules also determine gender parity, whereby men and women have an equal (or broadly equal) share of events.[134][135]
Input to list of disciplines
On 22 December 2017, the BBC reported that the organisers of the games were in talks with the International Cricket Council (ICC) about the inclusion of women's cricket.[136] In November 2018, the ICC confirmed that they have submitted a bid to include women's cricket in the Games. The bid was made in partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).[137]
It was also reported that shooting was likely to be excluded from the games citing a lack of facilities around Birmingham. Shooting has been included at every Commonwealth Games since Christchurch 1974. In January 2018, the dropping of shooting from the games programme was confirmed by the then CEO of the CGF David Grevemberg.[138][139][140] In December 2018, The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) delegation including President of ISSF Vladimir Lisin and CEO of British Shooting (BS) Hamish McInnes visited Birmingham and discussed with the Birmingham organising committee to add shooting in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[141]
In December 2018, the World Archery Federation (WA) confirmed that they had delivered a proposal for archery's inclusion in the Games. The bid was made in partnership with Archery GB and included Aston Hall as a suggested competition venue.[142]
In June 2019, after some time of popular searches and queries. Birmingham organising committee recommended the addition of two extra sports: para table tennis and beach volleyball. The proposal was approved by the CGF executive board.[143][144]
The CGF officially announced on 13 August 2019 that the women's T20 cricket, beach volleyball and para table tennis have been included in the Games while due to infrastructure and logistics issues shooting had to be excluded and the proposal to add archery was rejected.[145][146][147][148][149]
Birmingham 2022 list of disciplines
With the changes in the Charter, and the review of options, the major changes from Gold Coast 2018 include the addition of judo to the core sports and the local organizers' optional decision to hold a women's cricket tournament, taking advantage of local infrastructure. Returning to the Games for the first time in 24 years, due to various calendar issues, cricket will be exclusively female for the first time.
First time events introduced at Birmingham 2022 are 3x3 basketball and its wheelchair counterpart. Birmingham will have the largest number of events available for women and athletes with disabilities in the history of the Games.[150]
In October 2020, the list of events to be played in Birmingham was revealed,[151] though three parasport relays in athletics and swimming were later removed from the programme owing to a lack of indicative entries.[152] The schedule was refined to 280 finals played across 20 disciplines. This includes 136 events for women and 134 for men, an unprecedented gender balance amongst major multi-sport events though falling short of the 2018 Commonwealth Games when a perfect gender split had been achieved. In addition, 10 mixed gender events and 39 parasport events were scheduled.
The final list of disciplines, with the number of events in each discipline noted in the brackets, is:
In January 2020, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which functions also as the Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) representing India, submitted a proposal to the CGF to host a combined archery and shooting championships in Chandigarh during January 2022. The proposal was endorsed by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the Government of India, the ISSF and WA.[153][154][155] The CGF Executive Board approved the proposal at their meeting in London which took place on 21–23 February 2020, and also confirmed that the 2022 Commonwealth Shooting and Archery Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be two separately organised and funded Commonwealth Sport events. The CGF shall issue a medal table one week following the Birmingham 2022 closing ceremony that includes results from Chandigarh 2022 as a further and final ranking of competing nations and territories from the respective competitions.[156][157][158] In July 2021, the CGF announced that the event had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India.[159]
In February 2022, the CGF announced that esports would be included in the Games as a demonstration event and is in a possibility to be added at the games program at the future editions.[160] The inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championship will have separate branding, medals, and organisation and will include both men and women's Dota 2, eFootball, and Rocket League events.[161]
On 14 July 2023,the Nigerian team was disqualifed as winners of the women's 4x100 metre relay in athletics as Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha was found in violation of anti-doping measures.[163] This promoted England to gold, Jamaica to silver, and Australia were awarded bronze.
The official emblem was unveiled on 27 July 2019 at Centenary Square during the Commonwealth Social festival. It was designed by local agency RBL, based in Royal Leamington Spa, and is a jagged, triangular "B" shape formed by blue-yellow gradient lines representing the key venues of the Games in the West Midlands. The emblem is also the first to use the new branding for the CGF, as "Commonwealth Sport". It received a mainly positive reaction from locals in the city and on social media and some compared it to the emblem for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.[165][166]
The official mascot for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is Perry, a multi-coloured bull. Perry is named after an area of Birmingham, Perry Barr, within which Perry Park and the main athletics stadium, the Alexander Stadium, are located. The bull has a long history with being a symbol of Birmingham, and was positively received by the public on launch.[168] Perry was designed by ten-year-old Emma Lou from Bolton.[169]
Perry was reproduced in coloured willow in a Birmingham 2022 display commemorating the games at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2022.[170]
In July 2020, production company Sunset+Vine was appointed as the host broadcaster for the event.[171] In October 2020, BBC acquired the United Kingdom rights.[172] A record 57.1 million streams were generated on the BBC digital platforms by coverage of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, breaking the previous Commonwealth Games record. Additionally, the number of streams from the previous Commonwealth Games was more than six times higher than it was with this figure. The last event in 2018 took place in Australia, which is in a completely different time zone. 28.6 million people watched 2022 Commonwealth Games on the BBC's linear channels in total. Prior to the women's 100-metre backstroke and men's 100-metre breaststroke finals, viewership peaked at 6.6 million viewers, while the opening ceremony attracted a five-minute audience peak of 5.2 million. Audiences peaked at 5.1 million for the women's 4 x 400-metre relay final, while 4.8 million watched the closing ceremony. Other notable moments of the BBC's coverage included 4.2 million people watching the men's 200-metre final and 4.1 million people watching Adam Peaty win the 50-metre breaststroke final.[173][174]
See also
Commonwealth Youth Games held in the United Kingdom
^"Prentice added to Commonwealth Games team". Isle of Man Today. Isle of Man. 22 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022. This follows Will Draper's late call-up to the triathlon squad recently and brings the team up to a total of 34 athletes
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