We’re helping set the West Midlands stage as our region hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2022. Read on to find out more about Warwick’s role and how our facilities will be used by 2,000 world-class, international athletes.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are taking place 28 July - 8 August 2022 in towns and cities across the West Midlands. The Games provide the opportunity to once again showcase the region’s ability to thrive in the global spotlight, following hot on the heels of Coventry City of Culture 2021.

Home and host to world-class athletes

We’re so pleased to have been chosen to provide world-class training facilities for athletes taking part in the Games, as well as our role hosting an athletes' village.

Over 12 days, 4,500 athletes from 72 countries will compete across 15 competition venues. We will be hosting one of the athletes’ villages, with close to 2,000 competitors making use of our campus facilities.

Students and alumni competing

Two of our current students and one alumna will be representing their countries at the Commonwealth Games.

History student and sport scholar Kare Adenegan was inspired to start wheelchair racing at the age of 11 after watching the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Four years later, she became a Paralympic Medallist (Silver 100m, Bronze 400m and 800m), representing Paralympics GB at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. She also won two silver medals (100m and 800m) at the Tokyo 2020 Games. An incredibly decorated athlete at such a young age, Kare was named the 2018 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. She's set to graduate from Warwick just in time to compete for Team England.

Student and sport scholar Samuel Ricketts will be representing team Jamaica in badminton. Samuel said: "It’s a great honour to have been selected to represent Jamaica for badminton in the Commonwealth Games 2022! It’s been a great process, training hard and specifically building my game with both my coach, Nic Strange and the S&C team. Let the Games begin!"

As with Kare, it will be home Games for Warwickshire-born Sarah-Jane Perry. The squash player trains in Kenilworth and will hope to level or smash her silver medal from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

We wish them all the best!

Our latest webinar on Sport for Social Good with panellist Kare Adenegan

Spotlight on West Midlands and our local communities

The Commonwealth Games will further highlight the huge variety of exciting opportunities on our doorstep. The Games will follow on from the close of Coventry’s time as UK City of Culture and further embed the legacy of that incredible build up and year of celebration. But on a more tangible level, the Games will also make a real difference in our local communities too.

For example, Leamington Spa will host the lawn bowls and para bowls events at their venue in Victoria Park, and St Nicholas Park in Warwick is hosting the start and finish for the cycling road race. Thanks to this, Warwick District Council has been able to attract a total of £1.8 million funding from Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) and from the Government’s Local Growth Fund for infrastructure improvements in Leamington Spa ahead of the Games, which will have long-lasting benefits for the town. The Ricoh Arena (now Coventry Building Society Arena) will also host three different sports: the rugby sevens, judo and wrestling.

We also have the Playing Out in Canley project, which is funded by Spirit of 2012 and the Commonwealth Games 2022.