A SUMMER TO REMEMBER

From Roger Bannister’s fourminute mile at the 1954 Vancouver Games to the celebratory dances of Kiribatian weightlifter David Katoatau at Glasgow 2014, some of the most memorable sporting moments have happened at the Commonwealth Games, and audiences will be looking forward to seeing some of that magic at the 12-day Birmingham event from 28 July to 8 August.

After the opening ceremony on the Thursday evening, the competition kicks off in earnest on Friday morning with lawn bowls, badminton, gymnastics, hockey, rugby sevens, table tennis, cycling and swimming.

Later in the day come cricket, triathlon, boxing, netball, basketball and squash with heats taking place at a host of veunes across the city and many events also including para contests.

Athletics begins on Saturday morning with the marathon, with the main track events starting on Tuesday. Weightlifting, beach volleyball, judo and wrestling come into the mix as the week goes on.

But no matter what happens in the athletics at Alexander Stadium or in the gymnastics at Arena Birmingham or at any of the other venues stretching from Coventry in the southeast to Cannock Chase Forest in the north, it’s really all about the taking part. The Commonwealth Games have always been dubbed the “Friendly Games”. Tickets, which are onsale from mid-April, have been priced to reflect this, starting at just £8.

Alongside the sporting programme, a six month cultural festival has been running since March to coincide with the city’s limelight moment. This includes a mass tap-dancing extravaganza, immersive time travel in a street tram, live reggae and soca, and a whole host of other performances and activities reflecting the cultures of Birmingham’s different communities.

For details and tickets visit birmingham2022.com