Birmingham is to be the UK’s official candidate city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley has announced today (29 September).
The government is backing the bid, saying that hosting the Games would provide value for the public money that would be invested and have benefits for Birmingham, the West Midlands and the UK as a whole.
The cost of staging the event is expected to be at least £750m – which would be the most expensive sports event in Britain since London 2012.
Birmingham beat Liverpool to become Britain’s candidate city.
The West Midlands city’s rival bidders are Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Victoria in Canada and a potential Australian entry.
Submissions from candidate cities need to be received by Saturday 30 September, and the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is expected to make its decision later in the year.
Neil Rami, chief executive of the West Midlands Growth Company (successor to Marketing Birmingham) and Member of the Birmingham 2022 Bid team, said: “We welcome the decision by government to formally propose Birmingham as the UK’s candidate city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“Sport is one of the best ways of raising a city’s profile across the world. With the biggest growth in international visits of any UK destination over the past five years, Birmingham has consistently proven itself to be a reliable host for high-profile events – highlighted again this week by the announcement that the 2018 Gymnastics World Cup will be staged in the city.
“A Commonwealth Games in Birmingham would give the West Midlands an opportunity to present itself as the face of modern Britain. It would allow the region to not only underline its trade and investment credentials, but to put on a great cultural spectacle to visitors from across the Commonwealth’s 71 nations.”
Durban originally won the bidding process in 2015, but the South African city was stripped of the event in March because it did not meet the criteria set.
Birmingham’s proposal to create the UK’s largest permanent athletics stadium supplemented by four indoor arenas is central to its bid.
Sports minister Tracey Crouch said the bid was “a real opportunity for Birmingham, a real opportunity for the West Midlands and a real opportunity for the UK to showcase itself as hosting these major international events across the world”.
The government’s decision follows a three-phase assessment process that has tested Birmingham’s hosting credentials. This included being subjected to scrutiny from an independent assessment panel and officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the submission of two formal applications and two site inspection visits.
