- The Venue
The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event held every four years across the globe. This year’s edition is scheduled to take place in Birmingham, England from 28th July to 8th August 2022. This will be the 3rd time England has hosted the Commonwealth Games and the 7th time that they have been hosted in the United Kingdom. The Birmingham Games will be the only Games so far to leave a carbon neutral legacy. The 2022 Games will kick off at the Alexander Stadium, which has undergone a £72 million transformation.
- More Teams Than Ever
This year’s Games will feature around 6,500 athletes from 72 nations and territories. The number of athletes grows every year, with the largest contingent of athletes for the 2022 Games coming from India, followed by England, Scotland, and Wales. This year will include more medal events for women than men for the first time ever.
- New Events
There are 3 new events being introduced at the 2022 games, which will have a total of 19 sports and 8 Para sports, making this the biggest sports programme ever for the Commonwealth Games. The new entries include women’s cricket, and the addition of the T20 format for both men’s and women’s games. All cricket events will be held at Edgbaston Cricket Ground.
The inclusion of wheelchair basketball means that there are more Para sports than ever before and the addition of the 3x3 format highlights the growing popularity of the game. All basketball events will be held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull.
The third new event is the inclusion of mixed synchronised diving.
- The Medals
This year the medals have been designed by an all-female team of local students from Birmingham City’s School of Jewellery. The team led by Amber Alys, with Francesca Wilcox and Catarina Rodrigues Caeiro, were also part of the winning team that has designed the ribbon and the box for the medal too.
The designers drew inspiration from the journey that athletes take to reach their goal of competing at the Games, and so, the embossed details symbolize an aerial map of Birmingham’s road and canal network.
The ribbons have been designed with all athletes in mind, especially those with a visual impairment. They have been created with texture and have a tactile quality, so all athletes can feel the design. It also facilitates adjustment so that it sits comfortably when worn, regardless of the height of the athlete or Para athlete wearing it.
- The Mascot
Perry, a bull covered in a patchwork of multi-coloured hexagons, was unveiled as the official mascot for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Perry is inspired by the work of ten-year-old Emma Lou, who won a national design contest in the summer of 2020. Perry is the first mascot at any multi-sport Games that will be brought to life using augmented reality.
Image: Sky Sports