Brexit, Birmingham and the 2022 Commonwealth Games: an opportunity for regeneration and rejuvenation?

ABSTRACT

Research question/agenda: This article explores the awarding of the 2022 Commonwealth Games to Birmingham in the context of Brexit and Regional Devolution and Development.

Research methods/approach: A mixed methods approach of qualitative data collection supplemented by desktop research was undertaken. The underpinning research philosophy was that of Pragmatism – triangulating differing ontological & epistemological perspectives. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted between July 2018 and December 2018.

Findings: The article critically assesses the potential of the 2022 Games to support regeneration, finding that various factors will continue to impinge on the ability of the 2022 Games to fulfil their promise of a shared vision post-Brexit.

Practical implications/Research contribution: Much has been made of the potential for major international sporting events to provide a stimulus to areas in need of regeneration, for which Glasgow is often cited as a classic example in the UK, having hosted the Games in 2014. However, Brexit adds a new piquancy to this debate given the desire by senior UK Government figures to rejuvenate ties with the Commonwealth? Is there anything distinctive about Birmingham (e.g. the presence of significant “Commonwealth Diaspora” communities) that could assist in this regard?

KEYWORDS:

• Commonwealth games
• Brexit
• legacy
• urban renewal
• tourism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 A rather comprehensive list of members and information about the organisation is available via the Commonwealth’s website.

2 Confusingly, many countries comprise more than one nation and these compete separately. Thus, for example, Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland compete as individual nations.

3 i.e., “city of Birmingham” being synonymous with Birmingham City Council, rather than the greater West Midlands Metropolitan Authority area (now superseded by the West Midlands Combined Authority, or WMCA). As a comparison, “Greater Manchester” is equivalent to the WMCA.

4 Although long since deprecated, this region is made up of London and the salubrious Home Counties, as well as a handful of less well-off areas in Essex, Kent and southern Hampshire.

5 However, this did not include any legacy effects with respect to the purpose-built facilities and the flow-on effects for the community in terms of sport and recreational activity (Scottish Government, 2015).

6 Although this runs the risk of over-simplification if to vote Remain means one is an urban liberal who reads the Guardian and whose possession of “cultural capital” is determined by “highbrow” or “elite” measures (sic. Bourdieu) such as whether or not one likes classical music. It could also be argued that their analysis appears to suffer from omitted variable bias – the occupational status of one’s social contacts is highly collinear with one’s own occupational status and education.

7 We also undertook a series of focus groups in the form of “town hall meetings” during this period, exploring participants’ attitudes to Brexit and related regional development issues. However, as these did not focus on the Commonwealth Games, the findings of these sessions thereof are not reported in this article.

8 Accessed on January 25th 2018 at http://www.birmingham2022.com/.