Seeing double

Sports fans will be forgiven if they get confused next year, as Birmingham 2022 will take place not once, but twice. Mike Rowbottom assesses preparations for two different events on both sides of the pond.

Until the COVID-19 pandemic stuck its oar in, everything was straightforward.

The World Games in Birmingham, hosted in Alabama, were due to take place in July 2021, and a year later Birmingham - that is, England’s Birmingham - was scheduled to stage the 22nd Commonwealth Games.

But then the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021, and the new dates impinged on The World Games programme.

The quadrennial event, first organised in 1981 and involving sports and disciplines not contested at the Olympics, was postponed until 2022.

It was also decided that a rebranding would be helpful. And, thus, The World Games 2021 Birmingham became TWG2022, or The World Games 2022 Birmingham.

Not entirely unlike the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, as some observers have noted…

But, anyway, let’s hail Birmingham 2022! Both of them!

It should be said that these sporting contests will not actually conflict with each other in real time, as The World Games are due to take place from July 7 to 17, and the Commonwealth Games from July 28 to August 8.

So how are these two events - you might almost call them the Contiguous Games - proceeding as they head towards their 2022 delivery dates?

Broadly, the answer seems to be “very well, thank you”.

But perhaps you are looking for a little more detail? Let’s cut straight to the mascots.

Many in the international sporting community are still mentally scarred by the London 2012 mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville. Somebody once called them the “Spawn of Cyclops”.

Hero the Hedgehog, the hyperactive agent provocateur of the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London’s Olympic Stadium, did much to mend England’s reputation in the mascot stakes.

And Birmingham 2022 looks like maintaining that progress. In March, the mascot for next year’s Commonwealth Games, Perry, emerged to public view.

Like Hero, he was designed by a child - in

MIKE ROWBOTTOM CHIEF FEATURE WRITER, INSIDETHEGAMES

Birmingham in England is due to host the 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games. Photo: Getty Images

this case 10-year-old Emma Lou.

Rather than being some abstruse, historical, designed-by-committee amalgam, Perry is an actual animal. Perry is a bull.

The bull is the animal with which Birmingham has been synonymous for centuries. The city has had a market area known as the Bull Ring since the 16th century and the site is close to the current Bullring shopping centre, which has an iconic bronze bull statue at its entrance.

Perry is named after the Perry Barr area of Birmingham, the home of Alexander Stadium which is currently undergoing a £72 million renovation so it will be ready to host athletics at the Commonwealth Games, as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

The mascot’s rainbow-coloured hexagons are said to represent the coming together of the Commonwealth in equal partnership at the Games.

I am going to stick my neck out at this point by saying that I fear the Birmingham 2022 organisers have missed a trick. Where is Brum in all of this?

This small, sentient, vintage car, which featured in the eponymous children’s TV series throughout the 1990s - with narration by Toyah Willcox - does not appear to feature in the Birmingham 2022 roadshow.

But then maybe, just as he always used to, Brum will simply reverse himself out onto the highways and byways of the second city and head off for some Games adventures…

In July, Birmingham, Alabama, having seen Perry, raised him by one as they launched two “mythological” mascots - Vulcan and Vesta.

“Presented by O’Neal Steel, and in partnership with Vulcan Park and Museum, Vulcan and Vesta embody the spirit of Birmingham’s history,” organisers said.

“A symbol of Birmingham’s history of iron and steel comes to life as a six-foot tall, grey live mascot named Vulcan. He is joined by Vesta, goddess of the hearth and home.

“Together, they will explore Birmingham and the state of Alabama, entertaining crowds, attending events and making special appearances leading up to The World Games 2022.

“In July 2022, these two will be a common sight at venues, special events and, most importantly, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.”

Ah yes. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Let’s look at what the two teams have to offer.

Birmingham in England boasts two-time British Academy of Film and Television Arts award winner Hamish Hamilton as its broadcast director.

He has directed the Super Bowl half-time show annually since 2010, and has worked with musicians Mariah Carey, Eminem, Madonna, The Who and U2.

Iqbal Khan will take up the role of artistic director.

The Birmingham-born theatre director is known for his modern retellings of classic works such as William Shakespeare's play Othello, and has delivered lectures around the world.

Whispers in the Walls author Maeve Clarke has been recruited as writer for the events.

Joshua “RTKal” Holness will act as the music director and has performed at events including Glastonbury Festival, Bestival and Lovebox.

The production designer job has gone to Misty Buckley, who was recently nominated for a BAFTA award for her role in Stormzy's performance at Glastonbury.

Buckley has extensive experience of set design for large scale ceremonies including Coldplay’s 2016 Super Bowl half-time show, the London 2012 Paralympic Closing Ceremony and the Rugby World Cup 2015 Opening Ceremony.

Steven Knight, writer of one of Birmingham's most famous television exports, Peaky Blinders, has been hired as executive producer.

MIKE ROWBOTTOM CHIEF FEATURE WRITER, INSIDETHEGAMES

Birmingham, Alabama announced last month that the presenting sponsor for its Closing Ceremony at Protective Stadium would be Coca-Cola Bottling Company United.

It is, in case you were wondering, the third largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the United States.

The Closing Ceremony will feature performances from several musicians, including The World Games master of ceremonies - funk musician Bootsy Collins - and country music group Alabama, who are led by Birmingham 2022 honorary co-chair Randy Owen.

Also on the case will be The Blind Boys of Alabama, Bo Bice, Chuck Leavell, Jamey Johnson, Pastor Mike Jr, Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and Worth the Wait.

I don’t personally know any of these performers, but I like the cut of Bootsy Collins’ jib.

When he heard of the offer by the Organising Committee to name him master of ceremonies for the Games, the rock and roll hall of famer responded: “Are you funkin’ kiddin’ me? Y’all already know that music and sports are my thang!"

If the English Birmingham wants to match that spirit, they had better get on the phone to Ozzy Osbourne pronto…

But let’s get down to the brass tacks. On June 4, the Commonwealth Games Federation reported that Birmingham 2022 was "fully on track" to host a "world class" event next year following the conclusion of the sixth Coordination Commission visit.

Canada's Bruce Robertson, the CGF vice-president and the head of the Commission, said positive progress had been made "across all areas" since the last inspection in December.

Since then, construction work has moved on at the Alexander Stadium - as well as the new £73 million Sandwell Aquatics Centre - as the city prepares to welcome 72 countries and territories, 4,500 athletes, 19 sports and eight Para-sports.

The application window for 13,000 volunteers, who will become part of the “Commonwealth Collective”, closed in August, with organisers reporting an “amazing response”.

In terms of travel, plans have been approved for a new £10 million bus station in Perry Barr which will be part of a £31 million transport interchange linking bus and rail services in the area.

The Business and Tourism Programme, which seeks to boost the long-term economic impact of the Commonwealth Games, has been unveiled. It projects investment of more than £650 million.

At the one-year-to-go celebrations on July 28, chief executive Ian Reid outlined the to-do list.

“We've got to onboard our volunteers, get our workforce into shape and ready for the Games, make sure the construction projects are completed and then we add in all the temporary fit-outs such as seats,” he said.

“We have all of our logistics team ready to go.

“There is lots on but we have a lot of great people with Games expertise from previous events in the UK. We have some brilliant local people who are passionate about making this special for the city and the region.”

During the pandemic, Birmingham 2022 announced it had scrapped plans for an Athletes' Village at the Commonwealth Games after a review suggested it would not be delivered on time.

Organisers have instead moved accommodation to hubs across the host city.

In October last year, the BBC was announced as the holder of domestic broadcasting rights for the event - which is set to be the 18th consecutive Commonwealth Games it has shown.

The World Games, similarly, announced a major new broadcast agreement with CBS in the US in July.

CBS Sports Network will show a one-hour highlights programme on each of the 10 competition days in Alabama.

All 14 competition venues for The World Games have been confirmed, with 34 sports and approximately 3,600 athletes anticipated.

In August, Birmingham’s Mayor Randall Woodfin - who was re-elected this year - outlined the work that still needed to be done.

“The city is involved in every aspect,” he said.

“We must make sure our infrastructure is ready. We must ensure general services and public safety are coordinated. We must confirm our public transit system is up to the task. "We must prepare each venue in order to provide the best experience for our athletes and fans as possible. The city of Birmingham is the central hub of a metro region of more than a million people.”

The two Games have a common goal, as both will hope to be among the first major multi-sport events with spectators in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. "If the Olympics do have issues ours will be the first multi-sport event that the world sees,” said Ian Ward, the leader of the English Birmingham’s City Council, at the start of this year.

“We’re on schedule, on budget, and hopefully by the time the Games take place, vaccines should have been rolled out to the majority of places to allow us to stage them as we intended.”

But in September, chief executive Nick Sellers said he expected The World Games to be the first post-pandemic multi-sport event to have full stadiums.

The coronavirus is not obliging in terms of sporting dates and aspirations, so we can only hope that fans will be present.

But if we’re asking who is first, well, the calendar says Birmingham, Alabama…

The World Games in Birmingham in Alabama were postponed by a year.

Photo: World Games