Games Welcome for Media
Ashley Broadley, (Sports Journalists Association)
A warm welcome to Birmingham has been extended to journalists, photographers and broadcasters who are in the city to cover the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the 28 July opening ceremony of which was described by Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston as “the curtain-raiser for an incredible 11 days of sport.”
Mr Huddleston said: “London 2012 brought spectacles of this kind to a whole new generation. Ten years on, this ceremony will connect a new, global audience and showcase the very best of Birmingham and the whole of the UK.”
The Sports Minister, who is MP for Mid-Worcestershire, was one of a number of VIPs who welcomed more than 120 media representatives to a reception held on the terrace of the Library of Birmingham, overlooking views of city centre buildings bedecked with Commonwealth Games bunting.
Ashley Broadley, chairman of the Sports Journalists Association and Sports Editor at PA Media, said that “wonderful wordsmiths and outstanding photographers” would be telling some amazing stories over the course of the Games.
Mr Broadley, who started his career in journalism after studying a media degree at Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University) said he had fond memories of the city. “It’s changed in its look but remains an amazing, warm, welcoming, diverse city that will be a perfect host for the Commonwealth Games,” he added.
Others to welcome the media – acknowledging the importance of their coverage of the Games – included Dame Louise Martin, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation; Councillor Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council; Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and John Crabtree, Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands and chairman of the Birmingham Organising Committee for the Games.
Costing more than £778 million, the Games, which continue until 8 August, are the most expensive sporting event to be held in the UK since the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, city council chiefs estimate it will create a £1 billion economic benefit.
About 5,000 athletes from 72 nations and territories are competing.
