P LACES
The Games will take place from 28 July to 8 August
The Commonwealth Games have been described as a “West Midlands Celebration with Birmingham at its heart”. The venues being used for the Games stretch from Coventry to Wolverhampton. We look at the venues and the legacy plans for the Games
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irmingham was awarded the 2022 Commonwealth Games in 2017, after the original host, Durban in South Africa, was stripped of the right due to concerns
over its ability to meet its commitments. The re-bidding process saw Birmingham pip Liverpool for the right to host the event, largely thanks to the Birmingham bid team’s assurances that 95 per cent of competition venues were already in place. Birmingham now aims to use the Games as a catalyst to secure further major events for the city. Last year (2021), Birmingham City Council revealed a new strategy outlining the principles that will underpin the council’s efforts to secure major events in the next decade. A ‘portfolio’ approach will see the city target events that “have purpose”– in other words, capable of delivering a positive social, economic and environmental impact for residents and the regional economy. “Major events have always played a massive role in Birmingham’s visitor economy, providing jobs and opportunities in the leisure, culture, tourism and hospitality
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BIRMINGHAM 2022