Birmingham will play host to one of the biggest sporting events on the calendar this year, as the Commonwealth Games is staged in England for just the third time. Brum was announced as the host city in December 2017, and anyone that’s been around the city over the past 12 months would have seen the amount of work that is going into making this one of the most memorable Games in history. You can find out everything that you need to know about the event right here.
When Is It Taking Place?
The Commonwealth Games will get underway on Thursday 28th July with the Opening Ceremony taking place at the revamped Alexander Stadium. Originally a 12,700 capacity stadium, it has been improved to host 30,000 fans for the huge event this summer. The final event of the Commonwealth Games will be hockey, which takes place at the University of Birmingham on Monday 8th August, with the closing ceremony taking place later on the same day.
Can I Still Get Tickets?
Unfortunately, if you live in Birmingham, you have missed out on the ballot for local residents, which was open in July. However, the remaining tickets that are available for the event are now on general sale, and can be found here.
Commonwealth Games Venues & Sports
Alexander Stadium will be the biggest venue in operation throughout the Commonwealth Games, with the newly renovated stadium hosting all of the athletics events. The majority of the venues being used for the Commonwealth Games are located in Birmingham.
However, the Coventry Arena will host the rugby sevens and wrestling, while Victoria Park in Leamington Spa will host the lawn bowls. London will also have events at the Lee Valley VeloPark, as the track cycling will be staged in that location. Below, you can find the full list of venues being used at the Commonwealth Games this year.
- Alexander Stadium (Athletics)
- Cannock Chase (Cycling- mountain bike, time trial, road)
- Arena Birmingham (Gymnastics)
- Edgbaston Cricket Ground (Cricket)
- Coventry Arena (Rugby sevens, wrestling, judo)
- NEC (Boxing, table tennis, netball, badminton, weight lifting)
- Sandwell Aquatics Centre (Aquatics)
- Sutton Park (Triathlon)
- Smithfield (Beach volleyball, 3×3 basketball)
- University of Birmingham (Squash, Hockey)
- St Nicholas’ Park (Cycling- road race)
- Victoria Park (Lawn Bowls)
- West Park (Cycling- time trials)
- Lee Valley VeloPark (Cycling- track)
Participating Nations Involved
At present, 20 countries will be sending athletes to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer. Among them are Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Canada will also be involved, but there will be no athletes representing Jamaica. The full list of countries can be found below:
| Australia | Barbados | Cameroon | Canada | England |
| Guernsey | India | Isle of Man | Jersey | Kenya |
| Saint Lucia | Malaysia | Malawi | New Zealand | Nigeria |
| Pakistan | South Africa | Scotland | Sri Lanka | Trinidad and Tobago |
Biggest Stars At 2022 Commonwealth Games
One of the most exciting parts of having the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will be giving locals the opportunity to see some of the best athletes in the world at present. Some of the greatest stars in the world of sports will be appearing in Birmingham, and these are just some of the icons that those lucky enough to get tickets can expect to see:
- Alistair Brownlee (Triathlon)
- Adam Peaty (Swimming)
- Zac Stubblety-Cook (Swimming)
- Emma McKeaon (Swimming)
- Ariarne Titmus (Swimming)
- Andre De Grasse (Athletics)
- Emmanuel Korir (Athletics)
- Eliud Kipchoge (Athletics)
- Neeraj Chopra (Athletics)
- Damian Warner (Athletics)
- Dina Asher-Smith (Athletics)
- Jason Kenny (Cycling)
- Laura Kenny (Cycling)
- Tom Daley (Diving)
- Max Whitlock (Gymnastics)
You can learn more here about the Triathlon event course where you may see Alistair Brownlee.
