What are the Commonwealth Games?

The Commonwealth Games start in the UK this week and features one of the globe's biggest athletics gatherings after the Olympics and World Championships.

More than 5,000 athletes from 72 countries and territories are competing over 11 days in 19 sports and 280 medal events.

The Commonwealth Games are being staged in Birmingham in central England, the UK’s second-biggest city which is about 200km north-west of London.

Birmingham was picked after the original host city, Durban in South Africa, pulled out citing financial problems.

The English city was able to step in as a replacement, partly because it was already planning to bid for a future games, and a string of road and infrastructure improvements have been made since the event was moved to Birmingham.

Queen Elizabeth II passes the baton to British parasport athlete Kadeena Cox, at the launch of the Queen's Baton Relay for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, at Buckingham Palace. PA

The main venue is Alexander Stadium, for decades the city’s main athletics home in Perry Barr. Other events are being held at Edgbaston cricket ground and University of Birmingham facilities.

Birmingham is the fifth UK city to stage a Games after London in 1934, Edinburgh in 1970 and 1986, Manchester in 2002 and Glasgow in 2014.

Duran Duran are headlining the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. PA

Alexander Stadium will host the opening ceremony on Thursday at 8pm.

Steven Knight, the brains behind small screen hit show Peaky Blinders, has created the opening ceremony that will be watched by about 30,000 inside the stadium and millions on TV.

Birmingham-born pop giants Duran Duran will headline the opening ceremony.

UB40, another Birmingham-born band, who first found fame in the