The 2022 Commonwealth Games kick off today in Birmingham as just under two weeks of sports and competitions get underway.

Over the following 11 days, more than 5,000 athletes from 72 nations will compete in 280 events across 19 sports.

Local government officials hope Birmingham 2022 can be the catalyst to attract other major sporting events to the city and the West Midlands over the next decade, including a potential bid for the World Athletics Championships.

When is the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony?

The opening ceremony begins at 8pm today, Thursday, July 28 at the Alexander Stadium. 

The Argus: (PA)(PA)

How to watch the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony?

You can watch the Opening Ceremony tonight on BBC One.

It will be aired from 7pm until 10:30pm as Clare Balding provides coverage of the event.

It will also be repeated at 1:30am on BBC 2.

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Birmingham and the West Midlands’ aim is to make the area a venue of choice for international sports federations and to secure a minimum of eight major international events between this year and 2027.

The city will host the World Trampolining Championships and the International Blind Sport World Games next year, and will find out later this year whether a bid to stage the 2026 European Athletics Championships has been successful.

Birmingham City Council Leader Ian Ward said: “I’d very much like us to end the golden decade (of hosting events) with the possibility of bringing the World Athletics Championships to the city, but we’ll have to see where we go.

“We have ongoing conversations with World Athletics about what the options are. Our ambition, as set out in our strategy, is to be a global sporting city by the end of this decade.”