Policy paper

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: the highlights

Published 2 September 2022

1. Executive summary

In July and August 2022, Birmingham hosted the 22nd Commonwealth Games, the largest multi-sport event to be held in England in 10 years, featuring thousands of world-class athletes and over 1.5 million spectators. Home to more than 180 nationalities, Birmingham 2022 has been a home Games for every nation.   From the moment the iconic ‘Raging Bull’ stormed into the Alexander Stadium on opening night, to the final notes from the legendary Ozzy Osborne as the curtain fell, these incredible Games have captured the imagination of the city, region and audiences across the globe.

Birmingham 2022 proved to be a spectacular sporting showcase. 877 medals were awarded, 96 Commonwealth Games records and 4 world records were broken and there were fantastic successes for all the Home Nations. There was more para sport than ever before at a Commonwealth Games, more medals events for women than men for the first time ever at a major multi-sport event and basketball 3x3, wheelchair basketball 3x3 and women’s T20 cricket appeared at the Commonwealth Games for the very first time.

Hosts Team England sent the most diverse and inclusive English sporting team to compete at Birmingham 2022 and were rewarded with a record 176 medals, including 57 golds, representing the most medals ever won by England at a Commonwealth Games.

• Events took place in 15 venues across Birmingham, the West Midlands and London.
• Spanning 19 different sports, the Games entertained more than 1.5 million ticketed spectators.
• There were 9 free Festival Sites in Birmingham, including Neighbourhood Festivals hosted at 7 different sites across the city during the 11 days of competition. 10 other towns or cities hosted additional Festival Sites across the West Midlands and London.

Athletes from each of the UK’s Home Nations and the Crown Dependencies were central in delivering a successful and inclusive Games that made our whole nation proud and helped to unite us in celebration. Northern Ireland enjoyed its most successful Commonwealth Games ever; Scotland won more medals than at any Games other than Glasgow 2014; and para athletes led the way for Wales by contributing to half the team’s gold medals. Guernsey won its first medals at the Commonwealth Games for 28 years and its first-ever medal in athletics, while athletes from Jersey and the Isle of Man made their islands proud with their performances.

Birmingham 2022 has delivered some important Commonwealth Games firsts:

• Delivery in a record 4.5 years rather than the usual 7 years, with over half of the total delivery time in extraordinary circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Sold more tickets for this Games than any previously held in the UK, with 1.5 million ticketed fans.
• The biggest integrated para sport programme in Commonwealth Games history.
• More women’s than men’s medal events – a first in major, multi-sport event history.

• Bold ambition to deliver the most sustainable Commonwealth Games yet.
• The creation and provision of the first Relaxed Festival Site to be more accessible and inclusive for all.
• Commonwealth Games sporting debuts for basketball 3x3, wheelchair basketball 3x3 and cricket T20, the T20 being a women’s-only event.
• The first ever Commonwealth Games with a Social Value Charter, which took into account the wider economic, social and environmental effects of delivering the Games, ensuring that inclusivity and human rights were at the forefront of Games delivery.

The sporting programme was just the beginning. The legacy these Games will leave for the city and the region will last for years to come.

Birmingham 2022 was never just about two weeks of sport: it was designed as the Games for Everyone, with every community able to access the events, opportunities and benefits the Games provided. 

The people of Birmingham and the West Midlands gave an exceptional welcome to the Games, including the fans who gathered to see the ‘Raging Bull’ in Centenary Square; the thousands who lined the streets for the marathon and road cycling; and the brilliant scenes of celebration seen at the Festival Sites across the region.

With half of the people in the UK saying they watched, followed online, or took part in a Birmingham 2022 event, the Games brought the national spotlight to the region:

• 6 in 10 people from Birmingham and the surrounding area agreed the Games will have improved perceptions of the city, with less than 1 in 10 saying it won’t.
• Almost 8 in 10 people in the UK agreed the Games gave people the opportunity to celebrate, with two-thirds saying events like these make them feel proud of the UK.

The significant core public investment in the Games of £778 million has accelerated investment and regeneration in Birmingham, the West Midlands and beyond. These infrastructure improvements include:

• Alexander Stadium: transforming the existing stadium for the Games and communities.
• Sandwell Aquatics Centre: a brand new, world-class facility for elite and community swimming and diving.
• Amplifying ongoing investments in Perry Barr: including the refurbishment of the train station, wider transport improvements and the creation of up to 5,000 new homes supported by over £150 million investment by the UK government.

This public investment has also helped to unlock over £85 million additional funding from a range of public and third sector bodies, including a £35 million investment from Sport England to deliver a physical activity legacy.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion was the golden thread that weaved throughout the delivery of the Games with a clear vision of an inclusive Games, accessible to anyone who wished to enjoy it, whether by taking part or watching.

This included:

• Unique cultural experiences as part of the 6-month Birmingham 2022 Festival, expressing and reflecting the unique people and places of the West Midlands.
• Free-to-access Festival Sites across the city, hosting live performances, entertainment and special events, with major sites at Victoria Square and Smithfield drawing in huge crowds to the city centre.
• The Commonwealth Collective, which created 14,000 volunteer opportunities, brought life to the Games, the city, and the region in their orange Balti uniforms.

The Birmingham Games have been part of a landmark year of celebration for the UK and the Commonwealth. In June, The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations saw people and communities from across the UK, Commonwealth and beyond, come together to celebrate this historic milestone, marking Her Majesty The Queen’s 70 years of service. Coventry’s year in the spotlight as UK City of Culture 2021 saw events continue to May 2022.

Further cultural events are continuing throughout the year through UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, the centenary of the BBC, and the 75th anniversary of the Edinburgh Festivals. 2022 is a unique opportunity to shine a light on all that is great about our nation, demonstrating the UK’s fantastic diverse culture, creativity, and shared heritage.

This document outlines some of the immediate benefits and special moments of the Games. More information on the full legacy programme can be found in the Birmingham 2022: Our Legacy plan.

2. The Birmingham 2022 Games experience

Ticket headlines

More than 1.5 million tickets were sold for the Games, marking the most tickets ever sold for a Commonwealth Games in the UK and exceeding the 1.21 million tickets sold for the 2018 Gold Coast Games.

Alexander Stadium had 323,000 ticketed spectators and Edgbaston had 173,000 (a record for any women-only cricket tournament).

With the ‘Games for Everyone’ vision in mind, Games organisers prioritised making tickets as accessible as possible, with over 1 million tickets available at £22 or less, and a median ticket price of no more than £25. Concession tickets were available for all sports and both ceremonies from £8, and made up a minimum of 10% of tickets available.

700,000 tickets sold to West Midlands postcodes, with the first opportunity to buy tickets reserved for West Midlands residents

5,000 tickets provided to children and young people in care in Birmingham

206,000 tickets bought for under-16s

2,000 tickets provided to Generation 22 (Gen22) legacy programme participants aged 16-24

5,000 tickets given to children in the West Midlands, distributed through the regional Active Partnerships

Every ticket included local public transport for ticket holders on the day of the event to encourage behaviour change to more sustainable, active travel  and provide a safe, convenient and sustainable way for people to travel to Games venues. Those purchasing tickets were also able to make a donation to the 2 official charities of the Games: The Commonwealth Sport Foundation and United By 2022 Legacy Charity.

The ticketing programme was complemented by 5 events with free viewing access: cycling road race; cycling time trial; marathon; mountain biking and triathlon.

Making Commonwealth sporting history

The sporting competition covered 19 sports across 280 medal events, including 44 medal events across 8 para sports: the biggest para sport programme in the history of the Commonwealth Games. For the first time at any major multi-sporting event, there were more women’s medal events (136 events) than men’s (134 events).

4,822 athletes (2,550 male and 2,272 female) competed in the Games. This included 311 para athletes competing in athletics, cycling, lawn bowls, powerlifting, table tennis, basketball, triathlon and swimming.

The programme included:

• 11 days of swimming and diving
• 8 days of cricket
• 8 days of gymnastics
• 7 days of athletics, including the marathon
• Games-first appearances for women’s cricket, basketball 3x3 and wheelchair basketball 3x3

Over the course of the Games, competitors set:

4 world records

96 Commonwealth Games records

Australia topped the medal table with 67 golds, 57 silvers and 54 bronzes.

Medal standings

Position	Team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Australia	67	57	54	178
2	England	57	66	53	176
3	Canada	26	32	34	92
4	India	22	16	23	61
5	New Zealand	20	12	17	49
6	Scotland	13	11	27	51
7	Nigeria	12	9	14	35
8	Wales	8	6	14	28
9	South Africa	7	9	11	27
10	Malaysia	7	8	8	23

You can find the full medal table and standings on the Birmingham 2022 website.

For the host nation it was a great Games. Team England sent over 400 athletes and ended the Games with a record 176 medals, including 57 golds. The total represents England’s best ever Games, surpassing the 174 medals won at Glasgow 2014. Emily Campbell and Jack Laugher were the Opening Ceremony flag bearers and went on to win gold, with gymnast Jake Jarman having the honour at the Closing Ceremony following his haul of 4 golds. Athletes aged 17 to 74 won medals for England, encapsulating how sport can inspire every age group.

The David Dixon Award

The David Dixon Award for the outstanding athlete of the Games was given to Feng Tianwei, in recognition of her outstanding performance and demonstration of fair play and teamwork. The table tennis player from Singapore won three gold medals in Birmingham, bringing her total tally to 13 medals over the past 4 Games.

Meeting Perry

The official mascot for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games was Perry. Perry is a friendly, kind and cheeky bull, an animal with which Birmingham has been synonymous for centuries. He was named after the Perry Barr area of Birmingham, the home of the Alexander Stadium.

Perry was inspired by the design of ten-year-old Emma Lou from Bolton, winner of a national design competition that took place during summer of 2020, with rainbow coloured hexagons representing the coming together of the Commonwealth in equal partnership with the diverse communities of Birmingham and the West Midlands at the Games in 2022.

3. Improving health and wellbeing

Building on the power and momentum of the Games, the Games partners have striven to inspire and enable people to improve and sustain their levels of physical activity and increase their mental health awareness, with a particular focus on the most inactive and underrepresented groups.

Venue legacy

The Games will leave a lasting physical legacy for the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands. The Games has brought a brand-new aquatics centre to Sandwell, leaving a state-of-the-art community leisure facility for use by local people from spring 2023. The Alexander Stadium has been transformed into a world-class athletics venue, designed with a permanent capacity of 18,000 post-Games.

In addition, investment into Cannock Chase has created a brand new, world-class mountain biking trail (‘Perry’s Trail’) that will be available for the public to use long after the Games has finished, alongside an innovative bike play facility focused on young families and children.

These venues have been built and improved with accessibility in mind so they can be enjoyed by all, and they will provide community and elite sports facilities post-Games. The improvements will help support the West Midlands and UK to secure more major events in the years to come.

Physical activity & wellbeing legacy

Nearly half (43%) of spectators surveyed by the Organising Committee have suggested they will increase their activity levels as a result of the Games. This rises to 71% for those under 25.

£35 million has been invested by Sport England, £2 million by the Department for Transport through Transport for West Midlands and £1 million by Birmingham City Council to support people to be active and engage with the Games.

Investment has focused on removing barriers and supporting people who don’t think physical activity is for them.

Some examples of this legacy:
1,947 Birmingham 2022 School Games events have taken place across England, bringing the Commonwealth Games to children across the nation.
21 awards were granted from Sport England to National Governing Bodies of sport to deliver activation offers for getting more people involved in their sports.
42 grants have been given out from Sport England’s Places & Spaces fund, to support local sports clubs and organisations to improve their local facilities.
954 non-competing Team England young athletes (including 130 para athletes, athletes and support staff from diverse/underrepresented backgrounds) have been given an immersive, major games experience, to better prepare them for delivering medal-winning performances as Team England, Team GB or Paralympics GB debutants at future Games.
70 Active Streets events and 8 Community Games have been delivered across Birmingham to bring local communities, young people and families closer to the Games and to give them an opportunity to get active themselves.
The £2 million Cycling for Everyone initiative (funded by the Department for Transport and delivered through Transport for West Midlands) is supporting people to get on their bikes and enjoy cycling as an everyday option to keep active. To help improve safety for cyclists and other road users in Birmingham, dedicated cycle lanes were put in place along A34 and A38, which now support access to venues.
Over 73,000 visits to Commonwealth Active Community events in Coventry, Solihull, Birmingham and the Black Country were registered. These are tailored activities to support local people in these areas to become more active and sustain physical activity.
112 grants have been awarded to date from Sport England’s B2022 Small Grants fund to help community clubs and organisations to capitalise on the momentum of the Games and support more people to engage with sport and physical activity.

4. Bringing people together

One of Birmingham’s fantastic assets is its diversity. The city is home to over 180 different nationalities, with many residents of the West Midlands born in a non-UK Commonwealth country. It is the youngest city in Europe, mirroring the youth of the Commonwealth overall. Birmingham 2022 championed this diversity and used the Games to bring people together for an international celebration of sport, culture and business.

Birmingham City Council invested £6 million in the Commonwealth Games Community Fund, including £2 million in the ‘Celebrating Communities’ scheme to ensure all 69 council wards could embrace and mark the Games, increase local level engagement and celebrate Birmingham’s local diverse history and linkages to the Commonwealth. Events included street parties, picnics and community celebrations.

As part of this, and to ensure that these projects could be accessible to all, Birmingham City Council worked with over 425 organisations to plan and deliver these projects to ensure they were representative of the communities they are aimed at. Through this programme, 493 projects have been commissioned across the city.

Engaging young people

The Organising Committee has delivered ‘Bring the Power’, a youth engagement and learning programme which has helped inspire a generation of young people. Birmingham City Council invested £500,000 into the programme for delivery within the city.

Beyond Birmingham, ‘Bring the Power’ has also launched a national campaign, providing schools across England with an opportunity to be inspired and feel connected to the Games through a wide range of resources including lesson plans, Games-themed assemblies, workshops and more.

Highlights of the ‘Bring the Power’ School Festival programme:

563 schools across England participated, engaging

over 171,000 students

• Over 2,300 people registered and downloaded multiple resources nationally, for use in classrooms and educational settings.
• 300 schools engaged across Birmingham, with an additional 82 Perry Assemblies delivered across the city.
• 6,700 students in Birmingham and the West Midlands took part in Birmingham 2022-inspired engagement days, combining creative arts and sport-related physical activities.
• Over 500 workshops were delivered in schools and community youth club settings.
• £28,000 in Common Ground Grants was awarded to 28 secondary schools to support youth voice and leadership.
• 182 children participated in the launch of the national programme, including Team England athletes and Ministers from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education.

Internationally, Commonwealth Connections (a jointly-funded project between the Organising Committee and the British Council) has allowed young people across the Commonwealth to learn from each other using sports, arts and culture. As part of this programme, 60 schools in the West Midlands have been twinned with schools across the Commonwealth, using art and sports to build relationships and learn together about shared Commonwealth values.

Ceremonies

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies bookended the Games in spectacular fashion. Local music heroes Duran Duran and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi wowed a packed Alexander Stadium on Opening Ceremony night, which celebrated Birmingham’s industrial heritage and multicultural traditions.

The ceremony also included a Red Arrows fly-past and an appearance from the 10-metre high mechanised bull, in a section of the ceremony which focused on the plight of female chain-makers in the early 20th century. The bull will be staying in Centenary Square until September 2022 to coincide with the end of the cultural festival, and Games partners are looking to find it a longer-term home.

The Games were formally closed on 8 August 2022 during a show-stopping Closing Ceremony at the Alexander Stadium, with an all-star cast of the region’s music artists including Beverley Knight, Goldie, UB40 and Panjabi MC. The medley of unforgettable performances reflected the West Midlands’ unique musical heritage and told the story of Birmingham’s embrace of generations of Commonwealth citizens. The evening was topped off by a surprise performance by Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, reunited with guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Tommy Clufetos and bassist Adam Wakeman.

Both ceremonies provided a unique opportunity to showcase the best of the UK on a global stage, and celebrated the vibrant cultural diversity of Birmingham and the West Midlands with our friends across the Commonwealth.

Pride House

A Pride House is a venue welcoming LGBTIQ+ fans, athletes, and allies during large-scale international sporting events. Pride Houses are places to view the competitions, experience the event with others, learn about LGBTIQ+ sport and LGBTIQ+ discrimination in sport, and build a relationship with mainstream sport.

Birmingham’s Pride House was a Games-time hub for the Commonwealth Sport Pride Network, which positively championed and enabled LGBTIQ+ inclusion at the Commonwealth Games and across the Commonwealth Sport Movement.

Community engagement

The Commonwealth Games is known as the ‘friendly Games’, bringing people together from across the Commonwealth regardless of their cultural background, disability, gender or socio-economic background.

There was an extensive community programme which aimed to connect communities to the Games through meaningful engagement and participation, including:

• 34 Community Hubs delivered in Birmingham and the West Midlands.
• 125 Community Roadshows and events delivered in Birmingham and the West Midlands engaging with 183,000 people.
• 18 Community Engagement Forums, engaging stakeholders from across the West Midlands and promoting opportunities for involvement and participation across the Organising Committee and Games partnership.

The Birmingham 2022 Festival (cultural programme)

Alongside the Games, a vibrant 6-month cultural festival has highlighted the city and region’s rich cultural heritage and diversity.

An additional £12 million of funding was awarded from a number of organisations, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England and Spirit of 2012, alongside Birmingham City Council.

The Birmingham 2022 Festival has equality, inclusion and accessibility at its core; celebrating common ground, expressing and reflecting the unique people and places of the West Midlands.

The Critical Mass participation project enabled 245 disabled and non-disabled young people from across the West Midlands to co-create a series of major dance performances, and take centre stage at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

107 Creative City projects took place across Birmingham, flooding open spaces in the city with art, co-created with local communities. This was the first time that community-based arts and cultural projects have been delivered as part of a Games cultural festival.

The Festival launched on 28 February 2022, and included a live performance from internationally renowned Birmingham band UB40. The opening event, Wondrous Stories, attracted a live audience of over 21,500 people over 4 days, including 7 free performances. The Festival will continue to run until the end of September 2022.

The Queen’s Baton Relay

The 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay was the prelude to the Birmingham 2022 Games. Over a period of 294 days, the Baton covered nearly 90,000 miles and visited the 72 Commonwealth nations and territories taking part in the Games, representing a third of the world’s population.

Over the 269 days of its international leg, the Baton travelled through Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, South America, the Caribbean, and North America, returning to the UK for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend. It then travelled to the Falkland Islands, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the 4 UK Home Nations.

All of the Queen’s Baton Relay activity was centred around the following themes:

• Common Ground - celebrating Commonwealth Communities and the links to the Commonwealth
• Journeys That Matter - making better communities/spaces/ways of living for tomorrow and championing sustainability
• Untold Stories - showcasing people, projects and places that have an inspiring untold story
• Digital Innovation - celebrating innovation, engineering and technology
• Youth - keeping young people at the heart of the celebrations
• Sporting Excellence - from grassroots to elite athletes

Due to international COVID-19 restrictions, this was the first Queen’s Baton Relay where the Baton travelled without a team accompanying it. Instead, all nations worked together, passing the Baton from neighbour to neighbour. The Baton spent 2-3 days in most countries, with extended stays in countries showcasing the Business and Tourism Programme (BATP).

The Baton has travelled by numerous means of transport including: foot, bicycle, motorbike, car, electric bus, sailboat, tugboat, canoe, sailing dinghy, rowing scull, seaplane, zipline, horse, and life-sized puppet elephant.

In February 2022, the Baton was carried by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge during Dubai Expo; marking the first time the Queen’s Baton Relay has ever travelled outside the Commonwealth, promoting Commonwealth values in new parts of the world.

The Baton visited the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies and toured the Home Nations. Highlights included:

• The Queen’s Baton spent 4 days in Scotland, visiting areas of natural beauty, Loch Ness and the Isle of Arran as well as visiting schools in Edinburgh, giving students the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Baton.
• In Northern Ireland the Baton visited a selection of care and support centres, such as a programme aiming to bring isolated older men together to develop their skills in a range of arts-based activities, and a facility supporting dementia patients. The Baton also visited a number of outdoor sporting venues, with Batonbearers taking part in open-water swimming and kayaking.
• The Baton arrived in Wales on a lifeboat before spending 5 days celebrating sport, communities and sustainability on a journey from north to south Wales. The Baton was present at a climate change debate in Aberystwyth and went to a number of schools and sports centres across the country, encouraging the next generation of Welsh athletes.

The Baton spent 14 days travelling through England from 4 July. It then spent the final 11 days of its journey around the West Midlands.

• On its tour of England the Baton visited 180 cities, towns and villages in 110 local authorities, including all West Midlands local authorities.
• There were 7,500 Batonbearers for the international relay and 2,022 publicly nominated Batonbearers in England.
• Thousands of people lined the streets to support them and participated in the celebratory events organised by local authorities as part of the relay.
• Across England, the Queen’s Baton Relay provided some unique moments such as arriving into the South West by zip line at the Eden Project, parachuting into the West Midlands and visiting schools and communities across the nation. The Baton visited every region in England.

The Queen’s message for the 2022 Commonwealth Games

The Baton concluded its epic journey at the Games Opening Ceremony, where His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales delivered the Queen’s message:

[the Games] remind us of our connection with one another, wherever we may be in the world, as part of the Commonwealth family of nations…

Tonight, in the words of the founder of the Games, we embark once again on a novel adventure here in Birmingham, a pioneering city which has drawn in and embraced so many throughout its history. It is a city symbolic of the rich diversity and unity of the Commonwealth, and one which now welcomes you all in friendship.

5. Being a catalyst for change

The £778 million investment into Birmingham and the West Midlands to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games was designed to catalyse long-term positive changes for the city and region. In particular, the Games will drive changes across a broad spectrum of economic and social benefits to Birmingham, the West Midlands and the wider UK.

Sustainability

The Games’ ambition was to deliver the most sustainable Commonwealth Games yet. Birmingham 2022 committed to measure its carbon footprint and take a reduction-first approach, focussing on key emission hotspots, for example encouraging spectators to use public transport by including it within every ticket. Where emissions couldn’t be eliminated, steps were taken that aimed to, over time, offset the entire carbon footprint of the Games.

This is a first for any Commonwealth Games and is being supported through the planting of a 2,022 acre Legacy Forest in the Midlands region, in partnership with the Games’ Nature and Carbon Neutral supporter, Severn Trent Water.

Sustainability initiatives included:

• Minimising waste by reusing and repurposing existing facilities and venues, hiring over buying where possible.
• Significantly reducing the use of single-use plastic, including Severn Trent providing free water bars at Games venues to refill water bottles.
• Working closely with uniform suppliers to ensure that the use of plastic was reduced, with waste minimised through smart folding, packaging and sizing technology.
• 72 tennis court-sized Tiny Forests have been planted by Severn Trent in urban areas across the West Midlands, in addition to the 2,022 acres of Legacy Forest that will be planted. Each Tiny Forest is named after a national flower or animal to represent each of the 72 Commonwealth nations and territories.
• The Canals & Rivers Trust have cleared 22 miles of canals of rubbish and plastics, under the banner of the ‘United by 2022’ community programme.
• The Organising Committee used 252 fully electric vehicles as part of its fleet during the Games.
• Supporting active travel at Games-time, including provision of 2 free 30-minute cycle hire rides each day, and  dedicated secure cycle parking provision at every venue.

Alongside the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Organising Committee, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has provided funding to offer Carbon Literacy Training for Games volunteers and West Midlands residents. This is a course designed to continue the carbon-neutral legacy of the Games, helping people understand the climate emergency and actions they can take to reduce their own carbon footprint.

Transport

With spectators travelling from around the globe, and millions of people arriving in the region, the Commonwealth Games have been one of the biggest-ever demands on the West Midlands’ transport network.

Hosting the Commonwealth Games has accelerated the development of public transport infrastructure improvements that will benefit the city and wider region. This included the development of new Sprint rapid bus routes and improvements to Perry Barr, University, Coventry and Leamington Spa railway stations. The Games has also been the catalyst for initiating highway redevelopments to benefit the city, including the A34 at Perry Barr.

During the Games, the carbon impact of the different transport mode choices was included in the Commonwealth Games journey planner, aiming to inform and encourage users to choose lower carbon options. Transport for West Midlands plans to adopt this concept to support journey planning in the longer term as post-Games legacy.

Keeping the second-largest city in the UK moving was a key success of the Games.

• Birmingham welcomed over 2 million people through New Street Station.
• 2,938 spectator shuttle buses helped 650,000 spectators travel to and from venues.
• 28,000 bike rides on the West Midlands Cycle Hire scheme were made during the Games, an increase of 131% relative to the 3 months prior to the Games.
• Over 7,500 personal bikes used cycle parking facilities at Games venues.

6. Helping the region grow and succeed

Hosting the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will provide a huge boost to the economies of Birmingham, the West Midlands and the wider UK, and is laying the foundations for wider economic recovery from the pandemic.

More than 5 million people came to the city centre during the two-week period beginning 25 July 2022 - a 200% increase on the same period in 2021 - bringing huge benefits to the local economy.

Job creation

40,000 jobs and skills opportunities were created by the Games, benefitting West Midlands residents.

The Jobs and Skills Academy invested £5 million to train unemployed residents to take advantage of roles in the Games. Through the Jobs and Skills Academy, over 7,500 people were trained in the key Games-related occupations of security, stewarding, hospitality, logistics and cleaning. This was essential for the Games and is also helping to build the workforce talent pool for the region.

In addition, the West Midlands Combined Authority was successful in securing a £5.2 million project ‘Find Your Future’ commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions, designed to support over 3,500 local people into employment and training both pre and post-Games. The project is part-funded by the European Social Fund.

A further £812,000 was awarded to the West Midlands Combined Authority through the National Lottery Community Fund, to help 1,000 young people connect to Commonwealth Games opportunities until December 2022. The Jobs and Skills Academy also invested £1 million to train employees in higher-level skills.

Volunteers

14,000 volunteers were trained to support the delivery of the Games, with 500 of these posts ringfenced for young people aged 14-17. The Games offered around 250,000 hours of training and 1 million volunteering hours. These volunteers were proud champions of Birmingham, the West Midlands and the UK; 63% came from the West Midlands, 61% were female and 21% self-reported as being from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Over 750 young people have also been recruited, as part of the Gen22 youth social action programme, to volunteer within their local community. This programme provides an opportunity for young people (aged 16-24) to gain skills and work experience, and who might otherwise struggle to access Games-related opportunities.

The legacy of these volunteers will carry on, as Games organisers continue momentum from the Games through a matching platform to link volunteers to volunteering opportunities across the region, initially funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and supported by Spirit of 2012.

7. Putting us on the map

With a global audience, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has given the city, the West Midlands region and the UK an unrivalled platform to showcase their best assets, raising the profile of the region and our country and shining a light on all the opportunities they have to offer across the Commonwealth.

Business and Tourism Programme (BATP) and UK House

Launched in July 2021, the Business and Tourism Programme (BATP) leveraged the profile generated by the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to boost the global reputations of Birmingham, the West Midlands and the UK as leading destinations for tourism, trade and investment.

The programme was developed by a partnership of regional, national and international organisations, all aiming to maximise the long-term economic benefits of the Commonwealth Games.

• The UK government has invested £21.3 million into the BATP.
• An additional £2.6 million of funding was provided by the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The programme is being delivered in partnership by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the West Midlands Combined Authority, the West Midlands Growth Company, the Department for International Trade, and Visit Britain.

The BATP is creating opportunities to connect with Commonwealth nations, territories and key global markets, re-establish a more resilient and sustainable tourism sector in the West Midlands, and contribute to the recovery of UK tourism more widely following COVID-19.

The Business and Tourism Programme to date:

• BATP activity has helped secure 23 investment decisions.
• The BATP has successfully attracted 10 meetings, conferences and sporting events.
• The BATP marketing campaigns and media activity reached an estimated audience of over 700 million across 18 countries.
• Supporting the tourism sector, the programme funded training for front-line tourism staff. In addition, 5.9 million used the digital platform for visitor information.
• Over 2,500 unique UK or overseas businesses have been engaged as part of work to stimulate trade and investment deals, a number of which are already in the pipeline.

Part of the business promotion activity included the delivery of UK House during Games-time, including the Commonwealth Business Forum, which was opened by the Prime Minister and Chancellor. UK House showcased and celebrated the UK as a leading, innovative nation with a dynamic, investor-friendly business landscape.

The UK House programme featured 8 days of events with more than 90 sessions, panels, clinics and workshops focussed on education, data-driven healthcare, sports economy, creative and digital technologies, food and drink, future mobility, tourism and legacy. The 5 key markets were India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Canada.

Broadcast

BBC Sport’s coverage of Birmingham 2022 was streamed a record-breaking 57.1 million times. This was over 6 times the number of streams seen in previous years, with a total of 9 million for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and 8.2m for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

• 28.6 million people watched this year’s Games on BBC TV at home.
• The highest peak was 6.6 million viewers ahead of the men and women’s 100m backstroke and breaststroke finals on day 3.
• 5.1 million people watched the result of the women’s 4x400m relay final, the final athletics event of the Games.
• The men’s 200m final had 4.2 million viewers.
• The BBC Sport website had 14.3 million visits for the latest news and analysis, with highlights being viewed online 10.7 million times.
• The Opening Ceremony was broadcast live to 134 countries around the world. 5.2 million viewers watched the Opening Ceremony on TV sets at home and 4.8 million people tuned into the Closing Ceremony.

8. Ensuring legacy continues

Legacy

From the outset, legacy was central to Birmingham 2022 and is reflected in the 5 mission pillars of the Games and its vision to be the ‘Games for Everyone’.

75 projects from across Birmingham, the West Midlands and the nation have joined the Games’ ‘United By Birmingham 2022’ community programme, demonstrating that their projects align with and champion the values of the Games’ mission pillars.

With the Closing Ceremony now behind us, Games partners remain committed to ensuring the benefits of the Games are felt throughout Birmingham, the West Midlands, and the UK, for years to come. The United By 2022 Legacy Charity’s aim is to maintain the momentum started by the Games and, with partners, support the Birmingham 2022 legacy going forward.

The Commonwealth Sport Foundation and United By 2022 Legacy Charity were the official charities of the Games, and worked with Sport Relief as Official Charity Partner to raise money to maximise the legacy impacts of the Games.

More information can be found in the Games’ publication Birmingham 2022: Our Legacy.

Evaluation

An independent evaluation is being undertaken into the economic, social and environmental impact of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

An evaluation report focussing on Games delivery will be published later in 2022, and another report capturing the post-Games legacy impacts will be published in late 2023.

Further information: data sources

You can find more information on the data referenced in this report in the separate annex (data sources).

The annex includes information including the data owner, data description, source of the data (and published link, where possible) and any relevant methodological notes.