Birmingham gets a lot of flack; for having a bad accent, being too north for the Southerners or too south for the Northerners. It reminds me of the TV show Malcolm in the Middle – Oh Birmingham, the city of middle child syndrome.
But this year it was the talking point of the UK (and beyond) for all the right reasons, as it became host for the Commonwealth Games 2022.
I moved to Birmingham from Belgium with my family aged six-years-old, so you can say I’m a Brummie without the accent. Having never attended a previous Commonwealth Games and knowing my first one would be taking place in my home city was an exhilarating experience.
In the run up to the event, I attended a few Commonwealth Games’s themed events such as Birmingham Churches Together (BCT) where we prayed over every nation participating; praying for the athletes safety and addressing the pains of the colonial past.
I spoke to the leader of BCT, Robert Munford in March who said: “The event was designed to prayerfully reset Birmingham’s relationship with the Commonwealth.”
Mountford wanted athletes and visitors to the nation to feel safe and at home.
I remembered seeing all the Commonwealth nations flags and being told to pick up a flag and to pray over it. The Commonwealth Games are certainly controversial, for example it has never been held on the African continent as original 2022 hosts Durban were stripped of staging the event due to lack of funds. Despite boasting diversity as one of their values, the financial constraints and divide between the commonwealth nations is extremely noticeable.
However, the competition itself prides itself on championing equality, diversity and inclusivity and even with changing relationships between amongst the Commonwealth between Britain and the other countries like Barbados (which became a Republic in November 2021) have been welcomed with open arms.
Across Birmingham, the build up has been just as impressive as the multi-sport competition itself, with new restaurants, cafe’s and themed events emerging. The city fully embraced their host status offering an array of goodies to entice and entertain anyone who passed through.
It was nice to see a shift in attitudes towards Brummies and Birmingham being shone in a positive light, rather than sitting in the shadows of other big cities like Manchester, London and Edinburgh.
But why shouldn’t we be proud of our achievements? Birmingham just hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games – the largest sporting event to be held in the UK since London 2012 Olympics.
When I saw the giant mechanical bull I couldn’t help but feel proud. To me it represents chaos and noise. It represents freedom and mechanisation. It represents farming and industry. The Bull represents Birmingham and its struggle to make a mark in the UK.
The Bull is our friendly landmark, constantly changing its clothes depending on the season and what’s currently happening in the city. A reminder that Birmingham is making waves in Britain, Europe and internationally and because of the Commonwealth Games, the Bull and Birmingham shall never be forgotten.
Birmingham was the best choice for hosting especially as it’s known for being a multicultural city. Some events occurred outside the city with the Judo in Coventry, mountain biking in Cannock Chase and London. Warwick, Royal Leamington Spa and Wolverhampton were also venues used but it is evident Birmingham remained at the heart of the games.
I was lucky enough to secure tickets for the Netball at the NEC, witnessing two matches; Scotland vs Australia and England vs Malawi. As a netball lover, I was excited to see the different nations, especially as England and Australia are both world renowned nations in the sport.
I was very impressed with the skills and talents from all the teams and as an adopted Brit, I followed the home crowd by throwing my support behind both Scotland and England in each of their matches. Unfortunately Scotland lost to Australia 83-30 but played strong and made the nation proud.
England had slightly more success securing a 66-41 win over Malawi, which brough much joy to the fans who donned painted flags on their faces and girls even dressed as English roses. But despite their loss, no one was as patriotic as the people of Malawi who entertained us all with their gleeful dancing.
After the netball, we headed to Edgbaston Stadium and I was excited to watch my first T-20 cricket match, especially as cricket is not my sport of choice, but in true multi-sport tradition, I was willing to embrace it and we watched England’s women win against Sri Lanka. As a champion of women’s sports, I thoroughly enjoyed spending my day watching three impeccable matches across two different sports on an international stage.
The benefit of events like the Commonwealth Games is it opens doors for people who aren’t avid sports fans the chance to immerse themselves into something new and hopefully find a sport they like.
Having a home [UK] event has allowed everyone to watch sports live and in person, which is always a more memorable experience compared to watching the games on TV.
Unfortunately, as you would expect from such a prestigious event, it was an expensive day. The tickets for events were fairly priced [around £22 for adults] making it more accessible for everyone, especially families, but the prices of food and drink were extortionate, which can be problematic, especially if you’re spending the full day.
I definitely believe the lasting legacy of the games for Birmingham is a greater love for watching live sports. I can imagine all the spectators making a bigger effort for more homegrown and grassroots sports teams.
Away from sports, I believe Birmingham has proven itself capable of being a host city. Recently it was announced Birmingham was shortlisted as one of seven cities to host Eurovision 2023 (alongside Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester).
I feel the Commonwealth Games has allowed us to finally be publicly proud of Birmingham. But why did it take this long? Birmingham is known as the birthplace of Cadburys chocolate and the Balti, produces 40% of the UK’s jewellery, is the home of heavy metal and the beloved dog show Crufts, to name a few.
But the Commonwealth has definitely given Brummies another gift – the streets have been changed and new artwork stained in our memories. Birmingham 2022 made statements about our troublesome past with slavery and second-class citizens.
The Commonwealth Games wasn’t just about sport, it was about life, it was about acknowledging regression and progress that needed to be made. It represented our pride of Birmingham, our beloved athletes and the people that live in this city.
Birmingham isn’t London with Buckingham Palace, Liverpool with the Beatles or Scotland with the Loch Ness Monster or Harry Potter. But it does have heaps of its own offerings.
Birmingham is located in the middle of England, in the heart of the country and now it has proved to everyone, what all Brummies have always known, it deserves recognition as one of the best cities in the UK and we’ve just proven why.