Birmingham to host 2022 Commonwealth Games

Birmingham has been announced as the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. After being chosen ahead of Liverpool as Britain’s candidate city, Birmingham’s was the only bid submitted to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) by the 30 September deadline.

The CGF initially deemed the bid was “not fully compliant”.

However, the city has now been confirmed as the host of the £750m Games, the most expensive sports event in Britain since the London Olympics.

The bidding process has been beset with problems, with the South African city of Durban awarded the Games in 2015 before being stripped of the event because it did not meet the CGF criteria.

After Birmingham’s bid was initially deemed to not meet the necessary criteria, previously interested cities such as Victoria in Canada and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia were given another two months to apply, but no bids materialised.

Birmingham’s organisers will now move forward with plans to build the UK’s largest permanent athletics stadium, supplemented by four indoor arenas.

The decision will also enable the council to pursue the purchase of land for the athletes’ village in Perry Barr, one of the city’s northern suburbs.