New sports and home hopes in Birmingham – Commonwealth Games talking points

The 2022 Commonwealth Games get under way at the end of July as Birmingham prepares to welcome 72 nations across two weeks of action.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points ahead of the Games.

The 2022 edition of the Games sees Birmingham take centre stage as the city prepares to host the event for the very first time. This will be the seventh time a UK city has hosted since the inception of the Games in 1930, with Glasgow being the most recent such host back in 2014. Sport will take place across the region, with events staged at venues including Arena Birmingham, the National Exhibition Centre, Alexander Stadium, Edgbaston and the new Sandwell Aquatics Centre. Coventry and Wolverhampton are among the other West Midlands locations set to host events, while the track cycling will be staged at Lee Valley VeloPark in London.

Birmingham promises a jam-packed line-up with some new sports and disciplines added to the mix. World T20 champions Australia get the women’s cricket fixtures under way against India in one of the new additions to the schedule, while basketball 3×3 and mixed synchronised diving will also be contested for the first time. Birmingham also boasts the largest para sport programme, with eight sports on offer, including wheelchair basketball 3×3, which makes its Commonwealth debut.

Australia will be looking to pick up where they left off on the Gold Coast in 2018, when they produced a dominant performance on home soil to top the medal table, finishing with 80 gold medals and 198 overall. The Gold Coast saw some outstanding performances from the Australians, with Mitch Larkin picking up five golds in the pool, the men’s team pursuit squad breaking a then world record to win gold and