Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on the BBC

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are one of the stand out events taking place in an incredible summer of sport. With the event back on British soil once more, we are thrilled to bring audiences unrivalled cross-platform coverage as sport stars from the Home Nations and Commonwealth countries give it their all.- Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport

• BBC Sport to broadcast more than 200 hours of live coverage across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Three
• Up to 11 streams on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, additional Red Button coverage
• Hazel Irvine, Clare Balding, Gabby Logan, Jason Mohammad, Holly Hamilton and Ayo Akinwolere to present live action on BBC TV
• New for 2022, Olympian Max Whitlock joins the BBC TV team to offer analysis and insight
• JJ Chalmers and Isa Guha to front daily BBC One highlights show
• Extensive wider coverage across the BBC including Sport Relief All-Star Games: Birmingham 2022, Denise Lewis: On A Mission and much more

Join the BBC this summer for wall to wall sporting action and more from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games across TV, radio and online as the competition returns to UK soil for the first time since 2014.

The BBC will broadcast more than 200 hours of live sport coverage across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Three with even more coverage available on up to 11 streams on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, plus additional live coverage on the Red Button. All of the latest action will be available 24/7 on the BBC as athletes take part over the 11 days of the competition.

Daily live TV coverage will be led by Hazel Irvine, Clare Balding, Gabby Logan, Jason Mohammad, Holly Hamilton and Ayo Akinwolere from Thursday 28 July. JJ Chalmers and Isa Guha will bring viewers an evening highlights show on BBC One.

Joining them will be an expert line up of former Olympians and top class athletes to offer their insight and analysis as the events unfold in Birmingham.

BBC Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Sports Extra will bring live commentary for athletics, swimming, netball, cricket and boxing, as well as updates on all the sporting events across the daily programming. New series Denise Lewis: On A Mission will feature the former Olympian in conversation with inspiring individuals from groups, charities and organisations that champion and challenge the five missions of Birmingham 2022.

BBC Sport online, the UK's biggest digital sports service, will be a 24/7 home for the Commonwealth Games through the BBC Sport website and app with extensive short form video of the best moments, live text commentaries, reports, features and results to keep audiences across all the latest stories from Birmingham 2022.

Across the BBC during the Games there will be an abundance of special additional programming on BBC Breakfast, The One Show, Morning Live, CBBC, BBC Asian Network, BBC Midlands Today and more.

Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport says: "The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are one of the stand out events taking place in an incredible summer of sport. With the event back on British soil once more, we are thrilled to bring audiences unrivalled cross-platform coverage as sport stars from the Home Nations and Commonwealth countries give it their all."

TV and BBC iPlayer

The BBC will show live coverage and highlights across BBC One, BBC Three, red button and up to 11 streams on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website throughout the Games.

A local reggae band called Friendly Fire Band will provide the marketing trail track for BBC Sport programming this summer. "It's a Brum Ting" was selected from an album featuring new songs by multiple local artists and bands called On Record, which was commissioned as part of Birmingham 2022 Festival and curated and produced by Birmingham Music Archive.

A studio in the heart of Birmingham in Centenary Square will be home from 28 July to bring viewers their favourite events, must see moments and live reports direct from the host city.

Daily coverage will begin on BBC One each morning as Jason Mohammad and Holly Hamilton present the live action. Hazel Irvine will then take over presenting duties each afternoon.

Covering the live events in the evening will be Clare Balding, with Gabby Logan joining for all the athletics events. Ayo Akinwolere will present further live coverage from 7pm onwards on BBC Three.

Tonight at the Games on BBC One every evening sees JJ Chalmers and Isa Guha bringing the best from the day's competition.

New for 2022, Max Whitlock will join the BBC TV team to offer his analysis and insight. He will be joined by former World and Commonwealth Gold Medallist Beth Tweddle analysing the gymnastics action with Matt Baker, Craig Heap and Christine Still in the commentary box.

Athletics legends Michael Johnson, Denise Lewis, Jess Ennis-Hill, Colin Jackson, Steve Cram, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Steve Backley and Paula Radcliffe will be in the studio throughout the competition to offer their expertise as each athletics event takes place.

Other sporting greats providing expert analysis include Sir Chris Hoy for the cycling events, Rebecca Adlington, Ellie Simmonds and Mark Foster for the swimming and Ama Agbeze for the netball.

There will be extensive coverage of the Commonwealth Games across BBC Sports News, where BBC Sports Editor Dan Roan and a team of correspondents and reporters will bring all the stories and behind the scenes action to viewers at home. BBC Sportsday will be live on the BBC News Channel from Birmingham every night.

BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds

BBC Radio 5 Live is the voice of the UK bringing its listeners to the heart of the sporting action and covering the cultural events around the games. In the build up to the Games, Radio 5 Live will launch a series called Denise Lewis: On a Mission. Led by Olympic gold medallist Denise Lewis, the series will feature her in conversation with inspiring individuals from groups, charities and organisations that champion and challenge the five missions which are: bringing people together, improving health and wellbeing, helping the region grow and succeed, be a catalyst for change and put Birmingham on the global stage. Denise's series look at the legacy and impact of the Games in a way like no other.

BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast with Rachel Burden and Rick Edwards will be the first to bring listeners the latest updates, followed by live commentary of the best of the day's action across the daytime schedules.

Nihal Arthanayake, Adrian Chiles and BBC Radio 5 Live Drive will host several shows from host city Birmingham taking listeners to the heart of the action throughout the competition.

Some familiar voices from Test Match Special will join the BBC Radio 5 Live and Radio 5 Sports Extra team as women's T20 cricket makes its debut at The Commonwealth Games. The TMS team will join the likes of Mike Costello and Allison Curbishley trackside, with John Hunt, Karen Pickering and Steve Parry broadcasting poolside. Steve Bunce and Jonathan Overend will be back at the Boxing venue, while Betty Glover will keep listeners updated with all the action from the Netball competition.

All coverage is available on BBC Radio 5 Live, Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds.

Digital and Social Media

BBC Sport online, the UK's biggest digital sports service, will be a 24/7 home for the Commonwealth Games through the BBC Sport website and app.

Up to eleven live sport streams will deliver comprehensive coverage of all the key moments to desktops, tablets, mobiles and connected TVs.

There will be extensive short form video of the best moments and live text commentaries, reports, features and results service to keep audiences across the latest.

On social media, BBC Sport will distribute video of key moments from the games across a variety of platforms to engage audiences and keep them across the very latest from the Games.

Wider content across the BBC

BBC Radio 2

The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show will broadcast live from Birmingham City Centre from 29 July - 8 August. The team will be soaking up the excitement of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games following the opening ceremony on Thursday 28 July and again on the closing date. There'll be live music as well as a host of showbiz and sporting stars, as Zoe and the team celebrate the West Midlands at this iconic event. Traffic and travel presenter, Richie Anderson, will be live from locations across the West Midlands, getting the stories behind the incredible athletes and the heroes behind the scenes, while sports reporter, Mike Williams, will be live from the city's major venues bringing you the latest from the Games.

BBC Radio 2 Sunday Night Is Music Night - Exodus: The Music of Bob Marley reimagined by the Chineke! Orchestra and special guests - Sunday 31 July from 8-10pm - A unique celebration of the music of global superstar, Bob Marley. Marking the 60th anniversary of Jamaican Independence, this concert showcases Marley's greatest songs now layered with new orchestration by Europe's first majority black and ethnically diverse orchestra, Chineke!. Presented by Trevor Nelson, Chineke! is joined by a hugely exciting singer, and inheritor of his family's musical legacy, Skip Marley, who will be making his UK debut live performance. Along with British singer / songwriter JP Cooper they explore the music of Bob Marley in classics including Get Up Stand Up, One Love / People Get Ready, Redemption Song, Satisfy My Soul, Is This Love, I Shot The Sheriff and Exodus.

BBC Radio 2 In Concert: Duran Duran will include filmed highlights of the 2021 BBC Radio Theatre performance for BBC Radio 2 In Concert from Duran Duran will be back on BBC Two. The 'wild boys', who formed in Birmingham in 1978, are still going strong today. Their set includes the classics Hungry Like The Wolf, Notorious, Ordinary World, Planet Earth and Save A Prayer, plus songs from their latest album, Future Past.

BBC Breakfast

BBC Breakfast will be live in Birmingham throughout the Commonwealth Games. There will be regular updates on the action as well as an in depth look at the what it means for people in the West Midlands. There will be special coverage around the Opening and Closing ceremonies.

Morning Live

Morning Live will talk to some of the Commonwealth presenters and pundits on Thursday 28 July before going off air to make way for the Games on BBC One.

The One Show

The One Show will be right at the heart of the build up to the Games with special reports showcasing preparations not just for the sporting events, but in the wider city and community, focussing on everything from the local families chosen to be on billboards promoting the Games, to the puppies being trained as police sniffer dogs in the stadium.

Other films will examine the more controversial new sports in the competition for the first time, and why the Commonwealth itself is still so important to many residents. There'll also be updates on the progress of the Queen's Baton Relay as it arrives in the city and surrounding area, and live behind the scenes moments as excitement builds towards the opening ceremony.

Sport Relief All-Star Games: Birmingham 2022

Two teams of para and non-disabled sporting legends and celebrities are set to go head-to-head at this summer's Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, all to raise life-changing money for Sport Relief.  

The teams will take on five Birmingham 2022 sports, competing in front of live crowds at the actual venues during the Games. The action will take place across Lee Valley Velopark for Cycling - Track, Alexander Stadium for the Athletics, Arena Birmingham for Rhythmic Gymnastics, Smithfield for Basketball 3x3 and the NEC Arena for Table Tennis.

Follow the teams in training across the BBC in the build up to the big day. The celebrities will then be put through their paces in a special one-hour programme, which will air before the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony on Monday 8 August on BBC One at 7pm.

BBC Midlands Today

BBC Midlands Today will be at the heart of the action throughout the Games. The regional TV news team for Birmingham and the Midlands will have dedicated Commonwealth Games reporters in communities celebrating the people of the West Midlands. Daily features will showcase the best of what Birmingham has to offer.

Back In Time For Birmingham

Back In Time returns and the popular history series is available now on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two. The programme follows the Sharma family from Solihull as they experience what life in the city would have been like for previous generations of South Asian Brits. Back In Time For Birmingham was commissioned to coincide with the Commonwealth Games. The series is presented by BBC Asian Network's Noreen Khan, alongside social historian Dr Yasmin Khan. It looks at the impact of arrivals from South Asia over the last 75 years.

Birmingham at the BBC Night

The Commonwealth Games sees a host of sporting talent descending on Birmingham, as well as the opportunity to enjoy some musical talent, with a look back on some of the city's greatest artists and bands on BBC Two. From Dexy's and Duran Duran to Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, with some added ELO and of course UB40. These acts and many more brilliant Brummies are celebrated through the best of their BBC appearances from over the decades.

BBC Three

BBC Three will shine a spotlight on the West Midlands with two new programmes to air in the run up the games. Filthy Business follows friends Cam and Oli as they try to grow their new waste management business and Queen of Trucks looks at the lucrative trucking industry, following the young learners trying to get their HGV licence in Willenhall.

BBC Arts

BBC Arts have commissioned three films for BBC iPlayer from three artists (Humanhood, Jaskirt Boora and China Plate Theatre) who are part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival. In addition, they are working with Contains Strong Language (in Birmingham in mid-September) to make six animated films featuring Words First finalists which will go onto BBC digital channels.

Beyond the Bricks of Brum

Beyond the Bricks of Brum forBBC Four/BBC Arts features more than 100 musicians. It's a celebration of Birmingham's music and spoken word scene which will see some of the most exciting talent from the city partnered with one of the country's top orchestras. Under the baton of Principal Guest Conductor, Dalia Stasevska, and featuring arrangements and orchestrations by Jules Buckley, the BBC Symphony Orchestra will be playing brand new arrangements and compositions from the likes of Black Voices, Casey Bailey and Sanity, plus other invited guest artists. This one-off performance will showcase the very best of Birmingham to the world, celebrating the city's musical place in the Commonwealth and looking forward to the future of the music and spoken word scenes in the city. The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio WM in the run up to the Commonwealth Games and at a later date as part of Inside Classical on BBC Four.

Blue Peter

Blue Peter are celebrating this summer's Commonwealth Games with a show focused on the Sport badge! Richie and Mwaksy are outside in the Blue Peter garden looking at the new sports Blue Peter fans have been trying out in a bid to earn their badge, plus there's an attempt at 3x3 basketball - a sport being staged at the Games this year for the first time! There will also be a look back at when Mwaksy tried her hand at Rugby Sevens. The special show can be watched on Friday 5 August, CBBC and BBC iPlayer from 5pm.

CBBC's Gym Stars

CBBC's Gym Stars series four is back with more terrific tumbling and awesome acrobatics! It celebrates some of the UK's best young talent as well as featuring elite team GB gymnasts who will be representing their home nations at the Commonwealth Games. The series will launch on BBC iPlayer and the CBBC channel in the run up to the Games.

Contains Strong Language

BBC Arts annual poetry and spoken word festival, Contains Strong Language, lands in Birmingham for a spectacular celebration of poetry and spoken word in the region from the 8th-11th September. The festival is a partnership between the BBC, Arts Council England, Verve Poetry Festival, the Commonwealth Games Cultural Committee, Creative Lives, British Council and PoliNations. Celebrating spoken word in all forms, the flagship four-day event will be giving a platform to the most exciting, existing and emerging artists in the region as well as collaborating with artists from across the Commonwealth which will be available for audiences on radio & BBC Sounds plus BBC iPlayer and digital platforms. In addition, the festival will be running a selection of community based projects throughout the year as well as making six animated short films with Calling the Shots and the BBC's Words First 2022 finalists.

BBC Radio WM

BBC Radio WM is working with Birmingham Music Archive and the Birmingham 2022 Festival to bring a series of 22 podcasts to air. On Record In Conversation features Birmingham musicians, promoters, managers, venue owners and entrepreneurs who have all contributed to local, national, and international music culture. They speak about their lives in music, their connections to the city, and how Birmingham has inspired or influenced them, personally and musically. Radio WM presenters are going to be hosting the stages at the Birmingham 2022 Neighbourhood Sites - which will take place around the city during the games to bring the action to a culturally diverse audience. The programme is being put together by seven neighbourhood producers and will feature music/dance/performances as well as bringing sporting action on the Big Screen.

BBC Asian Network

BBC Asian Network will bring laughter to Birmingham with its Asian Network Comedy Event at the Glee Club in Birmingham on Sunday 24 July.

BBC Radio 1Xtra

BBC Radio 1Xtra will host a special 1Xtra x Introducing Birmingham Showcase event from The Mill on Sunday 7 August. The night will see local BBC Introducing artists and 1Xtra DJs come together for a night full of live performances and DJ sets to close out the games. More details and ticket information to follow in the coming weeks.

BBC Radio 6 Music

BBC Radio 6 Music will partner with Supersonic Festival, which takes place at venues in Digbeth, Birmingham from Friday 8 July until Saturday 10 July, and is part of the wider Birmingham 2022 Festival. On Sunday 17 July, Stuart Maconie will bring listeners highlights from the performances at Supersonic Festival, along with interviews from some of the artists involved, during his Freak Zone show on the network (8pm-10pm).

BBC Radio 4

Party's Over - Going For Gold will broadcast on Friday 29 July from 6.30pm - 7pm. Miles Jupp returns as Henry Tobin, Britain's shortest serving and least successful former Prime Minister, in a new series of the BBC Radio 4 sitcom, Party's Over. What happens when the Prime Minister suddenly stops being Prime Minister? One day you're the most powerful person in the country, the next you're irrelevant, forced into retirement 30 years ahead of schedule and find yourself asking 'What do I do now?' In episode 1, Henry has somehow been invited to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In episode one, Henry has somehow been invited to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Also on BBC Radio 4, Brum Britain airs Saturday 23 July, from 8pm - 9pm. Imagine if the UK was run from Birmingham - the centre of the country, the crucible of the industrial revolution and the unsung homeland of some of our best loved comedians, musicians, writers and thinkers. Comedian Darren Harriott explores his birthplace to expose its treasures and explain its quirks as the Commonwealth Games makes the city its home.

Commonwealth Stories are three specially commissioned stories for Radio 4 from past winners of the Commonwealth Short Story prize, showcasing the talent of emerging and prizewinning international voices. They will air from Friday 22 July from 3.45pm - 4pm and the stories are: Indecent Exposure, a story about class, power and motherhood by Kanya D'Almeida from Sri Lanka, 2021 prizewinner, Agamemnon's Earthen Ships by Constantia Soteriou, 2019 winner from Cyprus, a story about an ancient myth with profound contemporary resonance and We Do Everything for You by Kevin Jared Hosein, 2018 winner from Trinidad, a story about being unseen in your own country.

BBC Radio 3

On Sunday 10 July and 17 July, Sunday Feature: Classical Commonwealth, in a two part series unravels the story of how classical music fused with local musical traditions across the British Commonwealth, with composer Errollyn Wallen speaking to acclaimed conductor Zubin Mehta, soprano Patricia Rozario, composer and kora player Tunde Jegede as well as other contemporary artists.

On the same day, a new three-part series World of Classical sees Thai-American cellist, composer and transcultural researcher Jon Silpayamanant trace shifting global trends across different musical cultures. This includes journeying into the middle ages at the emergence of music notation, before considering how other forms of musical record-keeping were emerging in China and Ethiopia.

In the week leading up the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, Radio 3's Breakfast picks up the baton of Commonwealth Classical and each day will be playing selected pieces from across the Commonwealth.

BBC World Service

BBC World Service will explore how the legacy of colonialism has affected the modern Commonwealth, and what it means to be one of over two billion people living in a Commonwealth nation today.

There will be four episodes of The Compass: The Reclaimers on the BBC World Service, Wednesday 13 July.As Western museums grapple with their colonial legacies and encounter ongoing pressure to repatriate artefacts, they face a fundamental question: how do they tell the difficult stories behind the items in their collections? After being invited to take part in events that coincide with the 2022 Commonwealth Games, actor Kema Sikazwe returns to Zambia for the first time since he was three years old, and asks: who has the right to tell these stories?

World Questions: Commonwealth airs on BBC World Service, Saturday 9 July. The Commonwealth of Nations is home to one third of the world's population - countries facing challenges such as climate change, rising food and fuel prices and recovery from Covid 19. What is the Commonwealth for? Can it help with the problems modern countries face? As geopolitics shifts around the world, is it more relevant or less so? Anita Anand presents a special edition of World Questions focusing on the Commonwealth.

In The Nations

Northern Ireland

The BBC Sport NI team will include presenter Stephen Watson and reporter Nigel Ringland. They will be reporting every day on the Games, as well as in the weeks leading up to the competition. The coverage will follow all the high-profile stars in the team going for medals in Birmingham, such as newly crowned world champion boxer Amy Broadhurst and the Paralympian swimming champion Bethany Firth, who is looking to add Commonwealth gold to her extensive collection of medals.

BBC Cymru Wales

BBC Cymru Wales will have daily content from the Games across TV, radio and online and will provide live updates on all the Welsh competitors.

In a two-part series presented by Commonwealth champion Colin Jackson and sprinter and bobsleigher Mica Moore, BBC Radio Wales will meet the Welsh athletes and veterans, organisers and volunteers coming to Birmingham in Colin & Mica's Commonwealth Games. Meanwhile, on Aled Hughes's show on BBC Radio Cymru (Monday - Thursday between 9am-11am), Aled will interview families and friends of the Welsh speaking athletes to give insight into the hard work the athletes put in to ensure their place in the team. During the games, BBC Radio Cymru and Cymru Fyw will have updates as the Welsh athletes progress. Dros Frecwast will cover the baton relay and there will be daily updates throughout the competition.

BBC Scotland

BBC Scotland's sport and news teams will be reporting on the big stories from the Games, bringing audiences the latest on Scotland's medal hunt. The twists and turns of the Games will feature on Sportsound, Good Morning Scotland, Lunchtime Live and Drivetime on BBC Radio Scotland, on Reporting Scotland on BBC One Scotland and on The Nine on the BBC Scotland channel. The BBC Scotland channel will also air an hour-long special at the end of the Games, which will give the inside track on Team Scotland's performance and highlight the most memorable moments from Birmingham.

ZB

Notes to Editor

• Sport Relief is teaming up with United By 2022 and the Commonwealth Sport Foundation to celebrate an incredible summer of sport as the official charity partners of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Together they hope to inspire the nation through a shared love of sport, to use this momentous sporting event as an opportunity to raise money to change lives for the better. Sport Relief is an initiative of Comic Relief. For more information about Sport Relief, please visit https://www.comicrelief.com/sportrelief

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.