The Commonwealth Games, returning to England for the first time since 2002, kicks off today in Birmingham.
First held in 1930, the Commonwealth Games first featured just 11 countries and 400 athletes. Today, 6,600 athletes from 72 nations and territories will compete.
Dina Asher-Smith will not be one of those, after the English sprinter was forced to pull out with a hamstring injury suffered at the World Athletics Championships. In her absence, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Keely Hodgkinson and Daryll Neita are among those looking to deliver on home soil.
But when are the Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022 and how can you get tickets? Find out everything you need to know below.
What are the Commonwealth Games?
The Commonwealth Games is a sporting event involving Commonwealth nations that occurs every four years.
In recent years, the games have taken place on Australia’s Gold Coast, Glasgow, Scotland, and Delhi, India.
The 2022 games will be the first time West Midlands has been the host, following London’s hosting in 1934 and Manchester in 2002.
Which countries are in the Commonwealth Games?
The following nations will take part in the Commonwealth Games: Anguill, Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, England, Eswatini, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guernsey, Guyana, India, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Scotland, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands ,South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Tanzania, The Gambia, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Wales, and Zambia.
When do the Commonwealth Games start?
The Commonwealth Games starts today, Thursday, July 28. The opening ceremony will kick off at 7pm, at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.
The first sporting events will take place on Friday, July 29, and the games will end on Monday, August 8.
Commonwealth Games Schedule
- Athletics and Para Athletics: Tuesday, August 2–Sunday, August 7
- Badminton: Friday, July 29–Monday, August 8
- Basketball and Wheelchair Basketball: Friday, July 29–Tuesday, August 2
- Beach Volleyball: Saturday, July 30–Sunday, August 7
- Boxing: Friday, July 29–Thursday, August 4, Saturday, August 6–Sunday, August 7
- Cricket: Friday, July 29-Sunday, July 31, Tuesday, August 2–Thursday, August 4, Saturday, August 6–Sunday, August 7
- Cycling–Mountain Bike: Wednesday, August 3
- Cycling–Road Race: Sunday, August 7
- Cycling–Time Trial: Thursday, August 4
- Cycling–Track & Para Track: Friday, July 29–Monday, August 1
- Diving: Thursday, August 4–Monday, August 8
- Gymnastics–Artistic: Friday, July 29–Tuesday, August 2
- Gymnastics–Rhythmic: Thursday, August 4–Saturday, August 6
- Hockey: Friday, July29–Monday, August 8
- Judo: Monday, August 1–Wednesday, August 3
- Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls: Friday, July 29–Saturday, August 6
- Marathon: Saturday, July 30
- Netball: Friday, July 29–Sunday, August 7
- Para Powerlifting: Thursday, August 4
- Rugby Sevens: Friday, July 29–Sunday, July 31
- Squash: Friday, July 29–Monday, August 8
- Swimming and Para Swimming: Friday, July 29–Wednesday, August 3
- Table Tennis and Para Table Tennis: Friday, July 29–Monday, August 8
- Triathlon and Para Triathlon: Friday, July 29, Sunday, July 31
- Weightlifting: Saturday, July 30–Wednesday, August 3
- Wrestling: Friday, August 5–Saturday, August 6
Commonwealth Games Tickets
Tickets for this year’s Commonwealth Games were released on April 19 and are currently on sale at Birmingham2022.com.
There are up to five ticket categories for each event – category A tickets are closer to the action and are more expensive, while category E tickets are further away and are less expensive.
Tickets for the opening ceremony range from £22 to £290, and ticket prices for the sporting events vary.
How to watch the Commonwealth Games
BBC Sport will show more than 200 hours of the games, across up to 11 live streams. The games will be broadcast on BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC Three. Plus, coverage will also be broadcast on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website, and Red Button.
Commonwealth gold medallists Max Whitlock and Beth Tweddle will join a team of expert analysts, which will also include Olympic gold medallists Michael Johnson, Denise Lewis and Jess Ennis-Hill, who will cover athletics.
Other star athletes covering the games include Sir Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington, Ellie Simmonds, Mark Foster, and Ama Agbeze.
From a studio in Birmingham’s Centenary Square, Hazel Irvine, Clare Balding, Gabby Logan, Jason Mohammad, Holly Hamilton and Ayo Akinwolere will also provide daily live TV coverage.
Commonwealth Games baton relay route
The Commonwealth Games baton arrived in England on July 4, ahead of a tour of the country ahead of the games.
The baton relay route was as follows:
- July 4: The Eden Project, Plymouth, Exeter, Portland, Poole and Bournemouth
- July 5: Devizes, Bath, Bristol, Hereford, Gloucester, and Cheltenham
- July 6: Stoke Mandeville, Maidenhead, Eton and Windsor, Aldershot, Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight
- July 7: Guildford, Tonbridge, Canterbury, Folkestone, Deal, and Dover
- July 8: Gravesend, Tilbury, Basildon, Southend-on-Sea, Maldon, Waltham Cross, Luton, and Hemel Hempstead
- July 9: King’s Lynn, Great Yarmouth, Bury St Edmunds, Hinxton, and Cambridge
- July 10: Northampton, Corby, Rutland, Leicester, Nottingham, and Lincoln
- July 11: Skegness, Boston, Grantham, Loughborough, Derby, Bakewell, and Buxton
