A new government report outlines the ‘transformational’ impact of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. 

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) report shows that the Games contributed nearly £1.2 billion to the UK economy. Nearly half of that came in the West Midlands alone and created 22,380 full time equivalent years of employment.

With Team England as the host CGA, the biggest multi-sport event in England since London 2012 was delivered on time and under budget, as well as producing £79.5m million in social value.

CGF President, Chris Jenkins OBE, said: “Birmingham 2022 was a spectacular, record-breaking Games that created iconic moments on and off the field, uniting the Commonwealth through sport. 

“It was so much more than 11 days of sporting competition. The report outlines the positive impact and lasting legacy of the Games. It drove trade and investment, created jobs and boosted tourism, with visitor numbers to Birmingham and the West Midlands in 2022 the highest on record. 

“From increased civic pride and social cohesion to promoting community sport participation, the Games were truly transformational.”

Held between 28 July and 8 August 2022, Birmingham brought together 6,600 athletes and team officials from across 72 Commonwealth nations and territories.

It was the first major multi-sport event in history to award more medals to women than men and Team England were aligned with that landmark - fielding more female athletes (223, 52.4%) than male (203, 47.6%) for the first time. 


It also delivered the largest-ever fully integrated programme of para sport, with Hannah Cockroft, Alice Tai, Emmanuel Oyinbo-Coker and Mark Swan among English para athletes to be part of iconic moments. 

Team England rose to the occasion and delivered their best-ever performance at the Games, winning 176 medals, 57 gold, 66 silver and 53 bronze to finish second in the medal table.

The Games broke the record for ticket sales at a Commonwealth Games, with a global TV audience of 834.9m, over 215m digital views and 141m social media engagements.

Launching the report this week at SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit, hosted at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre, the UK Sports Minister, Stuart Andrew said:

“With over 1.5 million tickets sold, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games was a record-breaking event that is still having a positive impact on the region two years on.

“This report shows that hosting major sporting events in this country boosts growth, creates jobs and has a lasting social impact for communities and some of the world’s best athletes will once again descend on Birmingham for the European Athletics Championships in 2026.”

The full report can be accessed here.