Games all set to get off to a rocky start

BY RICHARD LEWIS

ONE of the beauties of the Commonwealth Games – or The Friendly Games to give it its unofficial title – is the welcome of lesser-known nations to the centre of the sporting globe.

Tonight at the spectacular Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, these XXII Games will open to the sounds of Duran Duran (above) and the backdrop of stars in the making.

It is the seventh time the United Kingdom is staging the Games in its various guises, from London hosting the British Empire Games in 1934 to Glasgow in 2014.

Seventy-two nations will gather and this evening expect to see flags from Niue, the Norfolk Island, Saint Helena and Tuvalu, the small archipelago in Oceania comprising a total of 26 square kilometres. It is the world’s smallest sovereign country.

They bring a team of six for 2022 – two boxers, two beach volleyball players and two athletes – who have trained on the runway of Funafuti international airport since it is their biggest open space available.

Birmingham’s rich musical heritage – past, present and future – will also be on show.

Duran Duran, back in the city where their fourdecade career began, will be the finale to the ceremony’s musical feast.

And it will range from Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi to vocalists Indigo Marshall and Gambini, under the musical direction of rapper, artist and educator Joshua ‘RTKAL’ Holness.

Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon said: “The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is a momentous event for the great city of Birmingham. And we in Duran Duran are honoured to be a part of it in our home town.”

■■The opening ceremony is on BBC One from 7pm.