What the 2022 Games brought to Birmingham

Bill Morris, a proud Brummie and Senior Expert Advisor to the International Olympic Committee, on a gold medal opportunity for his home city.

I found the Games joyously successful. I say this as a born‑and‑bred Brummie. I attended the glorious Opening Ceremony and found it moving, thought‑provoking, eccentric, diverse, youthful and impressive.

In relation to operational delivery, from my own experience, media reports and testimony from friends and relatives who attended or live in the city, I can only report very significant success. Athletes appeared happy; operations were largely smooth; venues were effective; the city looked and felt exciting, creative and attractive; and the atmosphere was infectious.

The picture on long‑term impacts is more complicated and can only be based on conjecture at this point. I should add that, in addition to my work as a Senior Expert Advisor to the International Olympic Committee, I am currently concluding a two‑year master’s in sustainable urban development at the University of Oxford. Right now, I am writing my dissertation on the topic of ‘Assessing and augmenting the potential for global mega‑events to support sustainable urban development’, so the subject is uppermost in my mind.

I look back at London 2012 and its impacts with predictable and genuine pride (though not universally). However, in relation to the Commonwealth Games and lasting impacts, the Games of Manchester 2002 stand out. If ever a city has turned around its fortunes through a Games, it is Manchester. Glasgow also made strides in that direction, but for me Manchester has been the benchmark in terms of long‑term impacts.

Birmingham, although a largely successful, youthful and vibrant city, has not enjoyed the same profile or apparent dynamism over the same period – hence the 2022 Games offered a gold‑medal opportunity. By standing in for Durban late on, the city lost some vital long‑term planning time, and other civic difficulties appeared to deflect from horizon‑scanning, although the sensibly modest scale of new venue construction should result in no ‘white elephants’.

In the lead‑up to the Games it was not apparent to me that the city had a sufficiently clear vision and implementation plan for how the Games would catapult it to the next stage of its development, raising its profile, increasing investment, prompting healthier, more active citizens, inclusive sustainable communities, and so forth. At the risk of over‑simplification, the key assets to look for now are a clear, shared vision, an elegant post‑Games governance model and dedicated funding to support it. This is not to say these things will not happen or that, behind the scenes, the preparations are not all made. I hope they will be and are.

As a Trustee of the Spirit of 2012 charity and a member of its National Inquiry into the Social Impact of Events, we are seeing an opportunity for the UK to take a new leadership role – not just in world‑class hosting of major events, but in moving the global model forward so that such events also drive the sustainable social and urban developments we desperately need over the coming decades.

The Games have granted the city a wonderful launchpad, every bit as strong as those in Manchester and Glasgow, but it remains to be seen if the right components and determination are in place to realise all the potential energy garnered. It would be churlish to say the city has done the easy bit, not least because every successful Games represents gargantuan efforts and achievements, but only in 10 or 15 years will we know if Birmingham has won over the really hard yards.

Bill Morris is Senior Expert Advisor to the International Olympic Committee

THIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FROM THE AUTUMN 2022 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, WHICH IS FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.