The “biggest, boldest” Commonwealth Games will get under way in 90 days times, according to its chief executive.
The July 28 to Aug 8 event will be the first major multi-sports event to take place free of any Covid restrictions, with Birmingham set to prosper.
“I think hopefully we’re about to put on what might be one of the first multi-sport events in the world where we do have full stadia, where we do have live sites and the city absolutely buzzing,” said Birmingham 2022 chief executive Ian Reid
“The spotlight of the world will be on Birmingham and the West Midlands in that context. So perhaps it’s going to bring even further engagement with the event than perhaps we would have had pre-pandemic.”
There will be no athletes’ village in Birmingham for the 6,000 plus competitors. Instead, there will be three existing sites at universities.
“It’s a little bit more difficult for teams in managing (the athletes) but there is a lot of upside from a performance perspective,” Reid said.
“A lot of our athletes now are staying in a village that’s very close to both their training and their competition venues. If you’re staying at the University of Birmingham, squash is there, hockey is there, cricket is just next door.
Reid added that ticket sales for Birmingham at this stage are ahead of where the previous two Games on the Gold Coast and Glasgow.
