Birmingham’s party atmosphere continues as Commonwealth Games draws to a close

Mr Blue Sky beamed and the barges of Birmingham’s waterways bristled with flags of St George and other competing nations as they pootled beneath Black Sabbath Bridge.

The city embraced the Commonwealth Games like no other has done before it, a constant backdrop of jam-packed grandstands delivered an emphatic vindication of its relevance in the international sporting calendar.

Eleven days of action drew to a close at Alexander Stadium on Monday night as organisers turned the traditional Closing Ceremony into a non-stop party involving local luminaries like Dexys Midnight Runners and UB40.

It continued an atmosphere that had pervaded throughout, be it lawn bowlers from the Cook Islands performing an impromptu South Seas love song in Leamington Spa, or the semi-final celebrations of Jamaican netball’s ‘Sunshine Girls’.

Even the toughest cynic would be hard-pressed to deny the extraordinary success of a Games that appeared to have drawn the short straw in being asked to follow the sun and surf success of the Gold Coast in 2018.

What it lacked in golden beaches it made up for in simply being itself. With no Copacabana or Coolangatta, it plonked its beach volleyball venue on the graffiti-strewn site of an old fruit and veg market in the shadow of the Bullring, and brought the house down.

Fans thronged to watch early morning rotations of rhythmic gymnastics just as they soaked up the star quality of the likes of Adam Peaty in the pool and Keely Hodgkinson and newly-crowned world champion Jake Wightman on track nights to remember.

For a Games so often pilloried for second-rate standards, Birmingham 2022 showed how to succeed by simply being itself. It provided a blueprint for future editions by actively prioritising the pursuit