The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international
multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of intern ...
for members of the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
that took place in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England between 28 July and 8 August 2022.
They were the 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games. It was the third and seventh time England and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
hosted the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
, respectively.
4,822 athletes, including 311 para athletes from 72 Commonwealth Games Associations took part in the event. The event took place at 15 venues across Birmingham,
West Midlands and
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and featured 19
Commonwealth sports. 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 para sports.
Australia topped the medal table by both total golds (67) and total medals (179), with host nation England finishing second with 58 golds and 176 total medals and Canada finishing third with 26 golds and 92 total medals. India finished fourth with 22 gold and 61 total medals, and New Zealand finished fifth with 20 gold and 49 total medals. Niue won its first ever Commonwealth Games medal.
Birmingham was announced as the host city on 21 December 2017. The event marked the last time that the Commonwealth Games were held under
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
prior to her
death on 8 September of that year, which was exactly one month after the conclusion of the Games. The event contributed £1.2 billion to the economy of the United Kingdom.
Host selection
Two cities initially launched bids for the games:
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
, South Africa, and
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
, Canada. Edmonton withdrew its bid in February 2015, leaving Durban as the only bid to go forward to
CGF General Assembly in September 2015.
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
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
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
or
2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
, but later dropped the idea as it wanted to focus on the 2022 Commonwealth Games. 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
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
, India, in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
. The games were set to open on 18 July 2022, coinciding with the birthday of the late South African president,
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
. It was reported in February 2017 that
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
might be unable to host the games due to financial constraints. This was confirmed one month later on 13 March 2017 when the CGF stripped Durban of their rights to host the Games.
The bidding process for the 2022 Commonwealth Games was relaunched in March 2017 where English cities
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
expressed their interests in hosting the Games.
On 14 March 2017,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
also expressed an interest in hosting the Games.

By April 2017, the
British Government
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. asked city councils to submit proposals for hosting the 2022 Games. Only Birmingham and Liverpool submitted official applications to the
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for culture and sport, and some aspects of the media throughout the UK, such as broadcasting. I ...
. London declined to bid, as it was focusing its efforts on preparing for the
World Athletics
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...
and
Para Athletics Championships. 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. In early September 2017, Birmingham was selected over Liverpool for the recommended bid for England.
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
Commonwealth Games England (CGE) is the national Commonwealth Games Association for England. The company is responsible for supporting and managing the participation of England at the Commonwealth Games, Team England at the Commonwealth Games'.
...
submitted the Birmingham bid before the deadline to the CGF to host the 2022 Games. However, it was announced that the bid was not fully compliant, and the bidding process was extended until 30 November 2017.
The CGF had 170 questions regarding Birmingham's bid. On 21 December 2017, Birmingham was awarded for the 2022 Games as Durban's replacement host.
Louise Martin, president of the CGF, made the official announcement at a press conference at the Arena Academy in Birmingham.
Development and preparation
The
Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games (BOCCG) was responsible for the planning and operational delivery of the Games. 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.
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.
In July 2018, British Prime Minister
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
appointed
John Crabtree as Chair of the BOCCG. In January 2019, Ian Reid was announced as chief executive officer of the BOCCG. On 6 June 2019, the
British Government
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 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. The bill received royal assent and was passed into law as the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Act 2020 on 25 June 2020.
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
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, particularly the
UEFA Euro 2020
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...
(held on 11 June to 11 July 2021), the
2020 Summer Olympics
The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
(held on 23 July to 8 August 2021), the
UEFA Women's Euro 2022
The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champio ...
(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
The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...
(held from 15 to 24 July). 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.
Venues

The 2022 Commonwealth Games took place in 15 venues spread across the
West Midlands region
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level for Statistics, statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area known tradit ...
, with seven of them, including the athletics stadium and marathon route, located in the city of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. The
National Exhibition Centre
The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, England, near to Birmingham and Solihull. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International rail ...
complex, located on the fringes of the city in neighbouring
Solihull
Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
, hosted events in its exhibition halls and at the
Resorts World Arena
bp pulse LIVE is a multipurpose indoor arena located at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull, England, just outside Birmingham. It has a capacity of 15,685 seats. The venue was built as the seventh hall of the NEC complex. After 1 ...
. The six other regional hosts were
Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
,
Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase, often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase National Landscape, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and muc ...
,
Royal Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...
,
Sandwell
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough ...
,
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
and
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
. A sixteenth venue, the
Lee Valley VeloPark
Lee Valley VeloPark is a cycling centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, England. It is owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, and it was opened to the public in March 2014. The facility was one of the pe ...
in Stratford, East London, hosted the track cycling.
The following venues were used for the Games:
*Birmingham
**
Alexander Stadium
Alexander Stadium is an athletics stadium in Perry Barr, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is the largest athletics stadium in the United Kingdom. The stadium has four stands with a total seated capacity of 18,000. The stadium site has four build ...
(renovated) – Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony, Athletics
**
Utilita Arena Birmingham
Utilita Arena Birmingham (previously known as Arena Birmingham, The Barclaycard Arena, originally as the National Indoor Arena and still commonly called The NIA) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, England. It is owne ...
(existing) – Gymnastics
**
Edgbaston Cricket Ground (existing) – Cricket
**
Smithfield Market
Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly Wards of the City of London, ward of the City of London, England.
Smithfield is home to a number of City in ...
(purpose-built temporary stadia) – 3x3 Basketball, 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball, Beach Volleyball
**
Sutton Park (existing) – Triathlon
**
University of Birmingham Squash Centre (existing) – Hockey, Squash
**
Victoria Square (existing) – Marathon (finish)
*
West Midlands Region
**
Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase, often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase National Landscape, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and muc ...
, Staffordshire (existing) – Cycling (Mountain Bike)
**
Coventry Arena (existing) – Rugby Sevens, Judo, Wrestling
**
Victoria Park Bowling Greens, Leamington Spa (existing) – Lawn Bowls
**
Sandwell Aquatics Centre
Sandwell Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility located in Londonderry, West Midlands, Londonderry, Smethwick, West Midlands county, West Midlands, England. It contains an Olympic-size swimming pool (one of only two in the West Midlands (region), ...
(purpose-built) – Aquatics
**
National Exhibition Centre
The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, England, near to Birmingham and Solihull. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International rail ...
, Solihull (existing)
***Hall 1 – Weightlifting, Para Powerlifting
***Hall 3 – Table Tennis, Para Table Tennis
***Hall 4 – Boxing
***Hall 5 – Badminton
***
Resorts World Arena
bp pulse LIVE is a multipurpose indoor arena located at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull, England, just outside Birmingham. It has a capacity of 15,685 seats. The venue was built as the seventh hall of the NEC complex. After 1 ...
– Netball
**
Myton Fields (existing) – Cycling (Road Race)
**
West Park, Wolverhampton (existing) – Cycling (Time Trials)
*
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
**
Lee Valley VeloPark
Lee Valley VeloPark is a cycling centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, England. It is owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, and it was opened to the public in March 2014. The facility was one of the pe ...
, London (existing) – Cycling (Track)
Athletes' village
Perry Barr
Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is also the name of a Government of Birmingham, England#Council constituencies, council constituency, managed by its own ...
was selected to be the site of the athlete's village, with plans made to demolish the former
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 an ...
campus after the university had moved to a new campus. The new village was supposed to house up to 6,500 athletes and officials during the games and then become 1,400 new homes after the games, as part of a wider regeneration effort. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, construction of the village fell significantly behind schedule but the games' dates were not pushed back to accommodate this. Because the village would not be ready in time for the games, 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 Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
, the
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
, and the
NEC
is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...
. Around 1,600 athletes and officials were set to be accommodated at the NEC campus, 1,900 at the University of Warwick campus, and 2,800 at the University of Birmingham campus. In 2023, a year after the games had taken place and the first of the village's housing had been finished, the site was still uninhabited and described as a 'ghost village'. In 2024, two years after the games, the council announced that it was going to sell a majority of the homes to a private developer - with a total loss of £320m expected. The large losses from the village will compound on the
council's existing financial troubles.
Transport
The A34 flyover in Perry Barr was demolished in favour of a dual carriageway at ground level, cycle path and improved public transport services which were approved by
Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Birmingham has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropo ...
in October 2019 under its £27.1 million scheme.
The city council announced in January 2020 that the existing National Express Bus Depot in Perry Barr would be demolished as the depot site would be used to construct the phase two of the athletes' village. A replacement depot will be constructed on a largely council-owned land on nearby Aston Lane, at a cost of £16 million, eight times the original estimate.

The
University railway station, which serves the
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
, 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. The new station was not finished in time for the event. The
Perry Barr railway station building was rebuilt and the platforms renovated as part of the £30.9 million project in
Perry Barr
Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is also the name of a Government of Birmingham, England#Council constituencies, council constituency, managed by its own ...
and opened on May 29, 2022.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) was scheduled to provide the city's first continuous cross-city bus route in time for the Games. The new Sprint bus route was to run an express service along the
A34 and
A45 between
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...
and
Birmingham Airport
Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Bor ...
and
Solihull
Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
to Walsall via the
city centre
A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...
. 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. In February 2020 it was announced that the
West Midlands Combined Authority
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is the combined authority for the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom. It was established on 17 June 2016 by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development ...
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
Alexander Stadium is an athletics stadium in Perry Barr, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is the largest athletics stadium in the United Kingdom. The stadium has four stands with a total seated capacity of 18,000. The stadium site has four build ...
,
Arena Birmingham
Utilita Arena Birmingham (previously known as Arena Birmingham, The Barclaycard Arena, originally as the National Indoor Arena and still commonly called The NIA) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, England. It is owne ...
and the
Resorts World Arena
bp pulse LIVE is a multipurpose indoor arena located at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull, England, just outside Birmingham. It has a capacity of 15,685 seats. The venue was built as the seventh hall of the NEC complex. After 1 ...
. As of November 2023, the service has yet to commence running.
Cost and financing

At the time of submission of the bid to the CGF, the bid committee announced that the event would cost £750 million. On 25 June 2019, the
British Government
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. announced that the event costed £778 million. The British Government covered 75% (£594 million) and Birmingham City Council covered the remaining 25% (£184 million). 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
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
which cost £8.8 billion. 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
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. A ticket ballot for local residents opened on 14 July 2021, with the main public ticket ballot running from 8 to 30 September 2021.
Security
The
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England.
The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of ...
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. Additionally, private drones were banned over a no-fly zone and 55
police dog
A police dog, also known as a K-9 (phonemic abbreviation of canine), is a dog that is trained to assist police and other law enforcement officers. Their duties may include searching for drugs and explosives, locating missing people, findin ...
s were also part of the security plan.
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.
Queen's baton relay

The
Queen's baton
The King's Baton Relay is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently King Charles III. The relay traditionally begins at Buckingham P ...
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, it is constructed using
lost-wax casting
Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; borrowed from French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cast from an original scul ...
, 3D Printing, copper plating and CNC machining. It incorporates
copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
,
aluminium
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
, and
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
metals symbolising medals, and a strip of
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
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
A heart rate monitor (HRM) is a personal monitoring device that allows one to measure/display heart rate in real time or record the heart rate for later study. It is largely used to gather heart rate data while performing various types of ph ...
(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
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
following the relay.
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
Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less chemically reactive than most elements. They are usual ...
, and through its use of copper—which is designed to oxidise and develop a teal
patina
Patina ( or ) is a thin layer that variously forms on the surface of copper, brass, bronze, and similar metals and metal alloys ( tarnish produced by oxidation or other chemical processes), or certain stones and wooden furniture (sheen prod ...
over the course of the relay.
The relay began on 7 October 2021 at
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
in London, and lasted for 294 days—travelling through 72 Commonwealth nations and territories. After placing her message inside the baton,
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
presented it to British
Paralympic athlete and
cyclist
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
Kadeena Cox. During the opening ceremony, the baton was delivered to
Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...
, who read the Queen's message to officially open the Games.
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games were held at Alexander Stadium on the evening of 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
Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
, while
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...
of
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
–who is also a Birmingham native–performed alongside
Soweto Kinch during a segment of the ceremony.
Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony took place on 8 August 2022 at Alexander Stadium, and included the formal handover to the Australian state of
Victoria, then host of the
2026 Commonwealth Games
The 2026 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games and Glasgow 2026 (; ), is a planned multi-sport event scheduled from 23 July to 2 August 2026, to be hosted in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, for members ...
prior to its withdrawal nearly a year later before being replaced by Glasgow as the replacement host city, in a segment headlined by
Vanessa Amorosi. The ceremony featured tributes to the industrial history of Birmingham, the
Windrush generation and Birmingham TV show ''
Peaky Blinders
The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1920s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to working-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...
'', and included performances from a number of famous West Midlands musicians and groups, including
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...
,
UB40
UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...
,
Panjabi MC,
Musical Youth,
Goldie
Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is an English music producer, DJ, and actor.
Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musi ...
,
Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English singer, songwriter, actress and radio personality. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke ...
,
Apache Indian,
Jorja Smith
Jorja Alice Smith (born 11 June 1997) is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Walsall, West Midlands, she has been writing songs since the age of 11. In 2012, Smith's friend uploaded her cover of Labrinth's "Earthquake" to YouT ...
,
the Selecter, and
Laura Mvula. The grand finale featured a surprise appearance by
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...
in his first live performance in three years, joined by
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...
and former touring members of
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
Tommy Clufetos and
Adam Wakeman
Adam Wakeman (born 11 March 1974) is an English musician and the current keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne's band; he also played keyboards and guitar off-stage for Black Sabbath. Wakeman has also worked with Annie Lennox, Tra ...
for a medley of "
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
" and "
Paranoid
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
".
Participating associations
All 72
Commonwealth Games Association
A Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) is a national sports council of the Commonwealth Sports movement. Each association is responsible for organising, supporting and overseeing their national team for both the Commonwealth Games and the Commonw ...
s sent athletes to the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The number of athletes from each association is:
Sports
Commonwealth Games Charter
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
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
,
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
,
hockey
''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...
,
lawn bowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...
,
netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...
(for women),
rugby sevens
Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...
,
squash,
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
and
weightlifting
Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...
– five new sports will be integrated into the core sports:
road cycling
Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws a ...
,
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
(previously optional),
triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...
,
table tennis
Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...
, and
wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
. The charter also mandates that a number of
parasports
Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing non-disabled sports, while others have been specifically created f ...
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
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...
(recurve),
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
(3x3 or 5x5),
beach volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...
, cycling (
mountain bike
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...
and
track),
rhythmic gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (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
Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...
(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. The current rules also determine gender parity, whereby men and women have an equal (or broadly equal) share of events.
Input to list of disciplines
On 22 December 2017, the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
reported that the organisers of the games were in talks with the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
(ICC) about the inclusion of women's cricket. 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
The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...
(ECB).
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.
In December 2018, The
International Shooting Sport Federation
The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of Shooting at the Summer Olympics, Olympic shooting events. It also regulates several ISSF shooting events, non-Olympic shooting sport events. The Federation's activities ...
(ISSF) delegation including President of ISSF
Vladimir Lisin and CEO of
British Shooting
British Shooting is the national governing body for ISSF shooting sport disciplines in the United Kingdom. The organisation serves as a single shooting body to receive public funding from UK Sport and Sport England, administer high performance ...
(BS) Hamish McInnes visited Birmingham and discussed with the Birmingham organising committee to add shooting in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
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
Archery GB is the largest Sports governing body, national governing body for the sport of archery in the United Kingdom. Archery GB is responsible for all levels of archery within the UK from elite to development level and supports over 40,000 m ...
and included
Aston Hall as a suggested competition venue.
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.
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.
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.
On 27 October 2020, the list of events to be held in Birmingham was revealed with 271 finals scheduled for 19 sports.However, due to the low number of athletes registered in 15 events in 5 sports they were in risk to be dropped and could not yet be confirmed on that exact time.However, with the exception of the 3 relays planned in Paralympic sports, all were confirmed in 2021,giving a total of 283. The final program was completed with 283 finals scheduled across 20 sports. 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
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...
when a perfect gender split had been achieved. In addition, 10 mixed gender events and 35 parasport events were held.
The final list of disciplines, with the number of events in each discipline noted in the brackets, is:
*
Aquatics
Aquatics may refer to:
*Aquatic sports in the Olympics and other international competitions, including the disciplines of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming
*Water-related sports more broadly (including boa ...
**
**
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
**
**
**
*
**
**
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Associated competitions
In January 2020, the
Indian Olympic Association
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bhāratīya Olaṃpika Saṃgha'') is responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international spor ...
(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
Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
during January 2022. The proposal was endorsed by the
National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
, the ISSF and WA. The CGF Executive Board approved the proposal at their meeting in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
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. In July 2021, the CGF announced that the event had been cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in India
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of , according to Indian government ...
.
In February 2022, the CGF announced that
esports
Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
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. The inaugural
Commonwealth Esports Championships had separate branding, medals, and organisation and included both men and women's ''
Dota 2
''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve Corporation, Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created Mod (video gaming), mod for Blizzard Entertainment's ''War ...
'', ''
eFootball'', and ''
Rocket League
''Rocket League'' is a 2015 vehicular Association football, soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix for various home consoles and computers. A sequel to 2008's ''Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars'', ''Rocket League ...
'' events.
Calendar
Medal table
On 14 July 2023, the Nigerian team was disqualified as winners of the women's 4x100 metre relay in athletics as
Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha was found in violation of anti-doping measures. This promoted England to gold, Jamaica to silver, and Australia were awarded bronze.
Podium sweeps
The
podium sweeps, in which a single CGA won all the available medals in an event, were:
Marketing
Emblem
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
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...
, 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
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
and
Paralympics
The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...
.
Sponsors
The official sponsors of the 2022 Commonwealth Games were
Longines
Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A., or simply Longines (), is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Founded by Agassiz family, Auguste Agassiz in 1832, the company has been a subsidiary of the Swiss The Swatch G ...
,
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
,
E.ON
E.ON SE is a European multinational electric utility company based in Essen, Germany. It operates as one of the world's largest investor-owned electric utility service providers. The name originates from the Latin word '' aeon'', derived from ...
,
Chase,
Severn Trent and
Reckitt
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, currently branded as Reckitt, formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition pro ...
.
Mascot
The official mascot for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is
Perry
Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...
, a multi-coloured bull. Perry is named after an area of Birmingham,
Perry Barr
Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is also the name of a Government of Birmingham, England#Council constituencies, council constituency, managed by its own ...
, within which Perry Park and the main athletics stadium, the
Alexander Stadium
Alexander Stadium is an athletics stadium in Perry Barr, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is the largest athletics stadium in the United Kingdom. The stadium has four stands with a total seated capacity of 18,000. The stadium site has four build ...
, are located. The bull has a long history with being a symbol of Birmingham, and was positively received by the public on launch. Perry was designed by ten-year-old Emma Lou from
Bolton
Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
. Perry was reproduced in coloured
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known ...
in a Birmingham 2022 display commemorating the games at the
Chelsea Flower Show in 2022.
Concerns and controversies
Broadcasting
In July 2020, production company
Sunset+Vine was appointed as the host broadcaster for the event. In October 2020,
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
acquired the United Kingdom rights.
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
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
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
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event. 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.
See also
*Commonwealth Youth Games held in the United Kingdom
**
2000 Commonwealth Youth Games – Edinburgh (Scotland)
*Commonwealth Games held in the United Kingdom
**
1934 British Empire Games – London (England)
**
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: ''Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad'' 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18 to 26 July 1958. It was the sixth edition of what would come to be known as the Commonwealth Games, the ...
– Cardiff (Wales)
**
1970 British Commonwealth Games – Edinburgh (Scotland)
**
1986 Commonwealth Games
The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...
– Edinburgh (Scotland)
**
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...
– Manchester (England)
**
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...
– Glasgow (Scotland)
**
2026 Commonwealth Games
The 2026 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games and Glasgow 2026 (; ), is a planned multi-sport event scheduled from 23 July to 2 August 2026, to be hosted in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, for members ...
– Glasgow (Scotland)
References
External links
"Birmingham 2022" ''Commonwealthsport.com.'' Commonwealth Sport.
"Results and Medalists—2022 Commonwealth Games" ''Birmingham2022.com''. Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Evaluation of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: One Year Post-Games Evaluation Report ''Gov.uk''. Government of the United Kingdom.
* . ''Birmingham2022.com''. Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
{{Portal bar, Sports, England}
2022 Commonwealth Games
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...
Commonwealth Games by year
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
Commonwealth Games in the United Kingdom
International sports competitions in Birmingham, West Midlands
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
2020s in Birmingham, West Midlands
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
Common
Common may refer to:
As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin.
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Com ...