Staffordshire celebrates success of 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games

Staffordshire is celebrating the success of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and the county hosting two events.

The Games, which drew to an end yesterday, saw over 5000 top international athletes take part in over 280 events over 11 days.

On Wednesday 3 August, the sell-out mountain biking event took place on the nationally acclaimed trails at Birches Valley, Cannock Chase, with over 2,500 people turning out to watch it.

The county was also proud to host part of the cycling time trial events, which took part on the roads of Himley and Gospel End in South Staffordshire. The race gave hundreds of residents the opportunity to spectate at one of five free road events over the course of the games.

In the run up to the Games, the Queen’s Baton Relay also visited each of Staffordshire’s eight districts and boroughs, helping to get hundreds of communities in the mood for the event.

Flash mobs also took place in Birmingham and Drayton Manor Resort on 26 July, to celebrate the arrival of the Games and to promote Staffordshire as a visitor destination.  The events also helped launch a new tourism campaign, giving  people the chance to win days out prizes across the county. People can watch the flash mob video here: A flash mob to celebrate the Commonwealth Games coming to Staffordshire

Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for communities and culture, Victoria Wilson said:

“The 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games have been a huge success and I’m delighted that Staffordshire was able to play its part.

“We were extremely proud to host two events, the mountain biking on the amazing Cannock Chase and the cycling road races on the roads in South Staffordshire.

“The Games weren’t just an amazing  spectacle for those attending and the millions of people watching on television, but have also helped us to showcase Staffordshire on the international stage.  I would like to thank everyone who came out to cheer on the athletes, the Games volunteers for making people so welcome and to all the athletes for putting on such a good show.”

Some of Staffordshire’s top athletes also got the chance to represent their country. Swimmers Adam Peaty OBE and Greg Butler, athletics stars Ben Williams, Jazmin Sawyers and Shaun Burrows were all involved in the action. Cyclists Dan Bigham, Hayden Norris, Josie Nelson and Sophie Capewell and netballer Beth Cobden and para powerlifter Rebecca Bedford also took part.

Adam took gold in the 50 metres breaststroke, Dan got silver in team pursuit and Gemma got silver in Judo. Sophie won two medals, bronze in the Women’s 500m time trial and a silver medal in the Keirin.

The Games’ closing ceremony took place on Monday 8 August at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium.

The main Games website can be found at www.birmingham2022.com