Birmingham 2022 has always been about more than sport and tickets, unafraid to do things differently, and striving for new benchmarks in creativity, inclusivity, and sustainability and to leave an indelible mark on the region. Our legacy programme spans 11 different areas and is helping Birmingham and the West Midlands to maximise the benefits of hosting the Games.
Together with our legacy partners we have used the Games to bring people together, improve health and wellbeing, act as a catalyst for change, help the region to grow and succeed, and put us on the global stage. Birmingham 2022’s legacy will live on in the skills, confidence and optimism of the local people who have been positively impacted by the Games in their daily lives. It will travel on to future events, as well in the new image of Birmingham and the region that has been forged by the Games.
The legacy programme is in step with the regional strategy to create a healthier, happier, better connected, and more prosperous West Midlands. And like the sporting achievements on the field of play, the Games will inject pace and purpose, bringing partners together around those ambitions. The roars and cheers that will reverberate from Games venues will showcase this region as a future world-class host of major sporting and cultural events.
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is 'The Games for Everyone'
We are proud that Birmingham 2022 will deliver the biggest integrated para-sports programme of any Commonwealth Games and, for the first time in global multi-sport event history, more medals will be awarded to women than men. Those medals will also for the first time be inclusive, and accessible, with an adjustable ribbon to suit all body shapes and sizes.
Across our legacy programme inclusivity shines brightly, helping to tackle inequalities and inequity and providing a way to get communities involved from the ground up. Driven by significant public investment our work across the legacy programme is beginning to show emerging impact. This commitment to inclusivity and the challenges of the pandemic have led us to work differently and our choices have raised the bar for future Games organisers.
These examples highlight our approach:
Sandwell Aquatic Centre leads the way as one of the few fully accessible competition pools in the world.
- Public transport is included for ticket holders and volunteers making sustainable choices easier.
- Bring the Games into the heart of communities through seven free neighbourhood Festival Sites including a relaxed site for people with disabilities and neurodiverse conditions.
- 30,000 hours of social action assignments undertaken by young people aged 16-24, designed by young people to include those who face barriers.
- £6.5 million national investment in Games sports to reach new participants and audiences.
- 40,000 new jobs and volunteering opportunities.
- 14,000 volunteers, known as The Commonwealth Collective.
- 6-month long Birmingham 2022 Festival to showcasing the region’s cultural strength and bringing people together with free to access events.
- £24 million Business and Tourism programme will draw visitors and investors to our region until 2027.
- A Social Value Charter ensures suppliers generate local benefits, and that inclusivity and human rights are central to Games delivery.
- So far more than£40million of Social Value has been delivered. The predicted total is around £200 million.
We set the wheels in motion for a strong legacy and every day we hear how more people and places are taking part. Learning from London 2012, we’ve worked hard to ensure many of our programmes run beyond the Games, and continues to open unexpected opportunities for local people, and building pride in this place that we call home.
This is Birmingham 2022, created in the West Midlands. Be in no doubt, we are taking it on.
Browse the full publication about the legacy of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games:
