Commonwealth Games will deliver ‘lasting legacy’ and 35,000 jobs

Birmingham 2022 will be the biggest sporting and cultural event in the UK since 2012, and the biggest ever held in the West Midlands with 19 sports, including eight para-sports, over 11 days of competition.

To mark the launch of a legacy plan for the Games, the Birmingham Poet Laureate and Birmingham 2022 Legacy and Benefits Committee member Casey Bailey has written a poem called “Dive In”, capturing the excitement and the opportunity that Birmingham 2022 bringing to the city, the region, the country and the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Games organisers and its partners have released the plan, outlining a series of Games firsts that will leave a lasting, positive impact on jobs, skills, education, culture, physical activity and investment across the West Midlands and the country.

It outlines how the £778 million public investment into the West Midlands from the Games is benefitting people in the region and beyond, will continue to do so after the Games, and can provide a legacy blueprint for future host cities.

The plan is being delivered between the Birmingham 2022 organising committee, the Government, Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Combined Authority, Commonwealth Games Federation, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, West Midlands Growth Company and Commonwealth Games England.

Tourism

Its aims to deliver the first carbon-neutral Commonwealth Games and the largest business and tourism programme of any Games to attract international visitors and investment to the region and the UK.

Across nine legacy programmes, the plan sets out a vision for how the Commonwealth Games can transform the region and unite communities across the West Midlands, the country and the Commonwealth with a message of hope and recovery following the pandemic.

The plan includes state-of-the-art legacy facilities at the Alexander Stadium and Sandwell Aquatics Centre for community use after the Games; 1,400 homes in the first phase of the Perry Barr Regeneration Scheme, with hundreds more in future phases; a procurement spend of around £350m to benefit businesses across the UK; 35,000 jobs and opportunities available, with the first Commonwealth Jobs and Skills Academy offering a blueprint for reaching disadvantaged groups and 200,000 hours of volunteer training for more than 12,500 people.

There is also Commonwealth Active Communities, a £4m Sport England fund to harness the power of the Games to support inactive people to become more active and a six-month, UK-wide cultural festival reaching 2.5 million people and prioritising underrepresented communities.

A £6m Commonwealth Games Community Fund from Birmingham City Council will help communities build pride, respect and cohesion by celebrating the Games.

John Crabtree, chairman of Birmingham 2022, said: “The Games is a truly unique moment to showcase our great city and region to the world. It will help us to draw all our neighbours together after the most challenging of times, with a sense of unity and purpose. The Games’ partners are embracing this once in a generation occasion with both hands to ensure the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games leads our recovery with a legacy of renewal, growth, hope and inspiration.

“We are determined that the connections, friendships, and opportunities that the Games will provide us with, will continue to flourish and thrive. As individuals, as neighbours, as communities and as a region we must seize the Games moment as our catalyst to a happier, healthier, and more prosperous future.”

To find out more about the Legacy Plan, visit birmingham2022.com/legacy