Birmingham Bests Liverpool for 2022 Hosting Duties

(ATR) Birmingham beats out Liverpool as the United Kingdom candidate city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The decision by the Commonwealth Games Delivery Unit (CGDU) means Birmingham moves to the next stage of the process – convincing the UK government to approve the bid and underwrite much of its cost.

"We appreciate that it was a very close decision and that Liverpool pushed us all the way with a very compelling proposal," Ian Ward, Deputy Leader and Chair of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bid Committee, said in a statement.

"This is not the end of the journey and we look forward to working with the Government as it makes its final decision to support a UK Candidate City."

The Liverpool 2022 Commonwealth Games Bid Team "applauded the hard work and immense support of the city" in its ultimately unsuccessful campaign and stands ready to support Birmingham moving forward.

"I’d like to congratulate the city of Birmingham on making it to the next phase, and would like to offer this city’s support to the bid as it aims to represent the UK internationally," Liverpool 2022 bid Chairman Brian Barwick said in a statement.

"It will be great to see the Commonwealth Games back in the UK and we wish Birmingham well for the next stage in this process."

The decision on whether the UK government believes the Birmingham bid will deliver "clear value for taxpayers’ money" is expected to be made in the next few weeks.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, host of the 1998 Commonwealth Games, is currently the only other city still in the running to host in 2022. The sole remaining Canadian bid city, Victoria, pulled out of the race last month when the British Columbia provincial government declined to help fund the bid.

The Commonwealth Games Federation created a fast-track process for the 2022 event after it revoked the original hosting rights of Durban, South Africa in March due to a lack of organization and financial commitments.

Australia had also admitted interest to a bid in April, according to the CGF. But Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips has been on record since March saying an Australian bid would be made only as a last resort.

Australia’s Gold Coast is hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games in April.

Written by Gerard Farek

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