Birmingham 2022 funding has been secured to continue the legacy of the Games by driving inward investment and boosting access to sport and culture in the region.
The UK government will invest around £60 million of underspend from the Birmingham 2022 budget in the West Midlands to enhance the legacy of the brilliant Commonwealth Games hosted earlier this year. The fund will aim to increase access to sport and culture, boost the West Midlands’s reputation as a world-class host for major events and drive inward investment and tourism.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will work with the West Midlands Combined Authority and Birmingham City Council to capitalise on the success of the Games and help more people engage with sport and culture in the region.
The funding will also be allocated to boost inward business investment and tourism and help drive further economic growth in the West Midlands.
The Commonwealth Games was backed by £778 million of public funding, providing the West Midlands with a refurbished athletics stadium in Perry Barr and a brand-new aquatics centre in Smethwick. Alongside these world-class venues, the £60 million investment will support the region’s ambition to host future major events.
This investment builds on existing legacy programmes already being rolled out. In partnership with DCMS, Sport England will continue to boost access to sport through a Birmingham 2022 kit giveaway. 16,000 items from basketballs to bibs will be gifted to West Midlands community groups in the coming months
Leader of Birmingham City Council, Cllr Ian Ward said: “I am pleased the unspent money allocated to deliver the biggest and best event staged in Birmingham’s history will be retained in the city and wider region to strengthen the Games’ legacy. It is only fair that our robust financial management is recognised in this way.
“Despite a shortened delivery timescale and the COVID-19 pandemic, the council and other Games Partners demonstrated strong financial governance and still put on an unforgettable show that positively promoted the city on the global stage, kickstarting a Golden Decade of opportunity for the people and businesses of Birmingham.
“Earlier this year, we set out a clear plan for how we will ensure the Proud Host City can maximise the benefits of staging the Games through the use of any underspend. As quarter-funders of the Games’ core budget, it is only right we get our fair share to translate those ambitions into reality.
“The funding will help us stage an annual international festival, bid for other major events that will further boost our economy, develop plans for a new museum of science and industry, launch a long-term study tracking the impact of the Games on local people and offer support to grassroots sporting and cultural organisations.”
Birmingham 2022 was the fairest, greenest and fastest Commonwealth Games ever, delivered in four and a half years, rather than the seven that normally happens for a Games, and committed to a carbon neutral legacy. As well as having the biggest ever para-sport programme, the Games also awarded women with more medals than men. Birmingham 2022’s 11 days of sport was complemented by a 6-month cultural festival and the first ever Games-accredited business and tourism programme.
Birmingham 2022 was the best-selling Commonwealth Games to be held in the UK with over 1.5 million tickets sold, and the most watched Games on the BBC’s digital platforms with 57.1 million streams.
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