Birmingham – that was class

09 Aug Birmingham – that was class

Made in Birmingham. It’s the proud stamp of quality on all sorts of products since the birth of the Industrial Revolution and you can include the wider Midlands in that too.

And so it was with the Commonwealth Games which finished last night.

Not only was Birmingham 2022 an astonishing success story with most events sold out but it was achieved without a smash and grab raid on the public purse a la Manchester in 2002 or London for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Understated as Midlanders tend to be – we’re doers rather than rooftop shouters – Birmingham simply got on with things, using its carefully compiled infrastructure over the decades from the National Exhibition Centre and National Indoor Arena to the majesty of University of Birmingham and sheer practicality of a souped-up Alexander Stadium. Only the Sandwell Aquatics Centre was purpose built for Birmingham 2022.

Having worked professionally on many of these games around the world it is easy to tire of the overblown rhetoric of words like ‘legacy’ and ‘sustainability’.

Birmingham 2022’s legacy is simple – the resounding warmth of its people among everyone it welcomed to the city from the amazing volunteers to the creative genius of the games’ branding and of course the opening and closing ceremonies which said so much about the talent the West Midlands has given the world.

Even the West Midlands Police force saw it as an exercise in community policing by taking photos for visitors and joining in the festivities.

Those opening and closing ceremonies portrayed both a proud industrial past and a truly diverse, multicultural and contemporary present. It was indeed a Brum Ting. The particularly impressive music legacy was more a roll out of musical genres than a reel of local artists.

All probable reasons why – other than one brief family photo op by Liz Truss – both Tory leadership candidates kept well away from Brum.

Obsessed with trying to dumb Britain down to little more than a vile, backward-looking, foreigner-hating, reality-ignoring little island, there were few votes to be won among the Tory faithful by joining in Birmingham’s multicultural bonhomie.

A blessed relief on one hand but a sad fact on the other that in 2022 the next Prime Minster of the UK fears being seen supporting an international sports event.

That’s some grim comment – not least as Birmingham 2022 provided a much-needed feelgood factor and economic boost when there is such little good news around – and achieved it despite two years of on/off uncertainty due to covid. And that’s no Raging Bull.

Birmingham take a bow. You smashed it bab.

Chris Green