Comment Our message to SMEs – go for gold!

is estimated to be in the region of £250m to £300m, based on figures from the past two editions of the Commonwealth Games.

Around 75 per cent of contracts for the Glasgow games in 2014 were secured by local businesses, with this figure rising to 84 per cent for Australia’s Gold Coast four years later.

So, there is real scope for the West Midlands firms to reap the benefits in the lead-up to Birmingham 2022.

This includes our high concentration of SMEs.

It was interesting to learn that the Gold Coast awarded 127 contracts worth between $100,000 and $1m (Australian), which provided opportunities for smaller to medium enterprises to make their mark on the 2018 Games.

And let’s not forget the supply chain opportunities that will filter down from some of the more lucrative contracts, including venue construction and host broadcasting.

Of course, a global event of this scale will inevitably attract some big-name international contractors too – but they won’t have the same knowledge and understanding of our region as those who are already based here. So the local supply chain will be critical.

Indeed, chair of the organising committee John Crabtree, a former Birmingham Chamber president, stated he would be “rather fed up” if businesses from the West Midlands – with all our strengths in manufacturing and technology – failed to secure the lion’s share of contracts.

As an organisation that represents more than 3,000 companies across a broad range of sectors, Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce will be playing a key role in imparting information to the business community as the Games procurement process ramps up.

That was a message which the Chamber’s president Saqib Bhatti expressed when he took part in a panel discussion at the event.

We have already produced a Commonwealth Games ‘Hot Topic’ on our website to keep businesses plugged in to the latest developments, as well as signposting them to future opportunities.

The challenge has been set for Birmingham to make its mark in front of the watching world by delivering the best Games possible.

The opportunities for business to play its part in the story have been laid out.

Now it is time to go and grasp them. Paul Faulkner is chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce