Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Will Start A Day Later

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) – The start of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has been delayed by 24 hours, hence the Games will now run from July 28 till Aug 8, 2022. The joint announcement made by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee on Thursday, came after the CGF Executive Board approved the one-day delay. The minor tweak in the schedule is the result of multiple collaborative discussions between the leaders of some of the world’s major sporting events, after the significant impact on the international sporting calendar caused by COVID-19. The global pandemic has caused many major sports competitions to be cancelled or postponed, which includes the World Athletics Championships, taking place in Oregon USA and the UEFA Women’s Football Championships, being held in England to be moved by 12 months from July 2021. CGF and the organisers said the alteration will ensure the Birmingham 2022 will now boast two full weekends of Commonwealth Sports whilst extending the rest and recovery period for those athletes competing in the World Athletics Championships. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the World Athletics Championships (July 15-26), the UEFA Women’s Football Championships (July 6-31), and the multi-sport European Championships in (Aug 11-21) will now all be held over an exciting six-week period during the Summer of 2022. A change in the opening ceremony also prevented a potential clash with the semi-finals of the UEFA Women’s Football Championships, thus helping to protect and promote the profile of women’s sport. “The UEFA Women’s Football Championships will further enhance the ever-growing popularity of women’s football, while Birmingham 2022 is expected to be the first major multi-sport event in history to have more women’s medal events than men’s events. “In unprecedented circumstances, I am delighted that we have been able to work in partnership to ensure that the Commonwealth Games will take pride of place in what will be a fantastic summer of sport,” CGF President, Dame Louise Martin DBE said in the statement. -- BERNAMA