£778m investment in Birmingham and the West Midlands to deliver 2022 Commonwealth Games

Government confirms £778 million investment in Birmingham and the West Midlands to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

• Games will benefit Birmingham, the West Midlands and the UK through job creation, business and trade opportunities, and tourism
• Budget is split 75% / 25% between central government and Birmingham City Council and partners

Birmingham and the West Midlands region will benefit from a £778 million investment to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the government has confirmed today.

The public funding, which includes contingency, will be split approximately 75% / 25% between investment from central government (£594 million) and Birmingham City Council and a number of its key partners (£184 million).

This investment will deliver significant benefits for Birmingham, the West Midlands and the UK long after the 11 days of sport in 2022 are over. Birmingham 2022 will open up a wealth of opportunities, including business and trade, cultural engagement, volunteering, physical activity, jobs and skills, education and tourism. Over 1 million tickets will be made available for spectators from across the UK and around the world.

Additional commercial revenue will be raised by the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee and Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships through ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandising and the sale of broadcast rights.

Regular financial updates on the budget will be provided in the lead up to the Games. The Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee will also lay its accounts before Parliament in the usual manner for government arm’s length bodies.

Birmingham was awarded the rights to host the Games in December 2017. This announcement comes following a detailed budget review that took place after Birmingham was awarded host city rights.

Mims Davies MP, Minister for Sport and Civil Society said:

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will be the biggest sporting and cultural event ever held in the city. Watched by one and a half billion people worldwide, this is a massive opportunity to showcase the best that Birmingham, the West Midlands and the whole UK has to offer.

The Games budget is a significant investment in Birmingham and the region that will deliver benefits to local people for years to come. It will increase participation and encourage more people to get active and stay active, and to volunteer to be part of this fantastic event 10 years on from London 2012.

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said:

The level of investment coming into the city and the wider West Midlands as a result of our decision to successfully bid for the right to host the Commonwealth Games, is huge.

The Games are undoubtedly a catalyst, bringing forward many regeneration and infrastructure schemes, so they are delivered much quicker that we could have done so otherwise.

The event also gives us a golden opportunity to reposition the city and region on a global stage and bring citizens together. The announcement of the budget is a time to reflect upon this and thank all of the partner organisations that have joined forces to put resources into the local contribution to the overall Games budget.

Ian Reid, Chief Executive Officer for Birmingham 2022, said:

The £778 million of public funding confirmed today not only covers our costs for delivering the Games but a portion of this money will be invested in a couple of our key venues, covering some of the costs relating to the redevelopment of the Alexander Stadium and the building of the brand new Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

These projects and others, which will receive additional and accelerated funding because of the Games, will benefit the city and the region long after our closing ceremony on 7 August 2022.

We are working closely with our partners, especially the Commonwealth Games Federation, to ensure that wherever possible we are reducing the cost of staging a Commonwealth Games and we’re committed to delivering this event on budget. We’ll provide regular financial updates over the next three years, so that our progress can be tracked.

Having our budget confirmed is a key milestone for us and we can now look forward to delivering a fantastic Games for the people of Birmingham, the West Midlands and the country.

Dame Louise Martin DBE, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation said:

We are pleased to have confirmation of the public investment in Birmingham 2022, which reinforces the Commonwealth Games’ position as a cost-efficient multi-sport event focused on delivering numerous long-term benefits for the host city. An important element of the budget detail is the significant decrease in direct Games delivery costs compared to Gold Coast 2018.

A key focus since the launch of our strategic plan, Transformation 2022, has been to buck the global trend of rising Games delivery costs. Thanks to extensive partnership, we are pleased to see the operational costs come down whilst the value of the event to the host city and region is fully maximised. This confirmation unlocks significant investment in some inspiring infrastructure and legacy initiatives that will benefit Birmingham and the West Midlands for generations to come.

Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

This is a huge investment in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands to ensure the Commonwealth Games leaves a legacy far beyond 2022.

Investment in the region is already being unlocked thanks to the Games, with improvements to public transport and the regeneration of Perry Barr well underway. We expect the wider benefits of hosting the Games, including the economic and tourism boost, to last long into the future.

The Commonwealth Games will bring a global spotlight to Birmingham and the West Midlands, and we are looking forward to taking this opportunity to showcase our region to the world and celebrate how far we have come.

The Games will open a wealth of new opportunities for people who live and work here, will contribute millions to the local economy, and provide a global stage for us to introduce a rejuvenated, refreshed West Midlands to the world.

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games budget

Birmingham 2022 will open up a wealth of opportunities for people across the West Midlands region and the UK, including cultural engagement, business and trade, volunteering, physical activity, jobs and skills, education and tourism.

With an estimated global audience of 1.5 billion, Birmingham 2022 offers a unique opportunity to harness the power of sport and cultural activities to boost the West Midlands region and to promote Global Britain across the Commonwealth as we leave the EU.

The evidence from previous host cities demonstrates the significant benefits of staging the Games. Gold Coast 2018 Games is expected to have delivered a £1.3 billion boost to the Queensland economy.

The economic benefits from the Games will include new employment and improved skills, investment and export opportunities and increased tourism.

The Games provides an important opportunity for local and regional suppliers and the Games partners are already working with businesses across the West Midlands to ensure that they make the most of this. On the Gold Coast, 84% of contracts were won by local or regional businesses and in Glasgow, 76% of the total value of contracts awarded went to Glaswegian or Scottish companies.

To ensure that local companies start to capitalise on the opportunities that the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games present, briefings for hundreds of businesses have already taken place and more are planned in the run up to the Games.

Breakdown of funding

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will take place between 27th July and 7th August.

It will be the biggest sporting and cultural event ever held in the city, featuring thousands of world-class athletes, over a million spectators and an estimated global TV audience of 1.5 billion.

Birmingham 2022 is being delivered in unprecedented circumstances, with a significantly truncated timescale, after the hosting rights were withdrawn from Durban in March 2017 and awarded to Birmingham in December 2017.

In addition to the budget of £778 million for staging the Games, there are a number of existing projects in the region that will deliver long-lasting benefits, which can also help to deliver the Games in the summer of 2022.

This includes the £496 million development of 1,400 new homes at Perry Barr which will serve as the Commonwealth Games Village during the Games in 2022, the delivery of which Birmingham City Council is responsible. The Perry Barr development will be supported by £165m of government funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as announced in October 2018.

The Commonwealth Games will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the Perry Barr area with the development of a high-quality new residential neighbourhood. Post-Games, the development will be converted into more than 1,400 homes, the first phase of a long-term regeneration plan for Perry Barr and surrounding areas that will provide 5,000 new homes in total.

The Games will also benefit from investment in transport infrastructure including by Transport for West Midlands. This includes improvements at Perry Barr and University stations and new SPRINT rapid bus routes, subject to the necessary approvals. Passengers across the region will benefit from these proposals long after the Games end in 2022.