VENUE & SPORTS
Birmingham’s track record as a sporting city is second to none.
The City has decades of experience of hosting significant global sporting events at some of the sports most iconic backdrops – from Test match cricket at Edgbaston, to Ryder cup golf at the Belfry. We deliver sporting spectacles with passion, purpose and impact. And for an event as unique as the Invictus Games, we can also claim the outstanding work of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and our strong links with the armed forces, veterans and their families – put simply, that community of incredible people already knows and trust Birmingham implicitly.
We’ve seen at first hand the incredible impact sport can have on people’s lives, most recently as one of the host venue hubs for Commonwealth Games 2022, with over 400,000 people coming together across 10 days of amazing sport and activity in our venue. If that event was inspirational, I believe Invictus Games 2027 can raise the bar even higher and set a new benchmark, redefining the power of sport and the impact it can have on individual lives, wider communities and the entire country. There is no doubt in my mind that we have the facilities, the people, the infrastructure and the track record to stage an amazing event in Birmingham in 2027.
The NEC’s experience in sport includes hosting World Indoor Athletics, the Davis Cup, World Wheelchair Basketball, European Gymnastics Championships, Professional Cycling Races, All England Open Badminton Championships and esport competitions to name just a few.
Clearly, we can also draw on our experience of being a Commonwealth Games Hub in 2022, where we hosted 7 sports.
The plan in 2027 is to deliver the first Invictus Games where literally everything takes place on the same campus. The sporting activity, the hotel accommodation, the community engagement, the entertainment, all staged in interconnecting indoor and outdoor spaces that are on the same level, are entirely accessible and have all the related amenities to deliver a world class event. Backed by an event management and delivery team that is the best in the business.
THE SPORTS – PLANNING PRINCIPLES
By building on learnings from previous Games and applying our knowledge we are determined to maximise the games experience for competitor, friends, family and spectator.
Key considerations:
Stakeholder Experience: This has been considered at every stage of event planning and influenced every decision in relation to participants, friends and family, spectators, partners and guests.
Accessibility: All venues, are accessible and regularly used for major disability events such as 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Collaboration: Seeking the views and responding to the preferences and suggestions of the IGF and, in particular, learning from past games.
Blend of Sports: We have considered:
Historical number of entries for sports.
Ability to train for sports alongside an innovative approach for example pickleball can be played on badminton court with minimal equipment and cost.
Choice: We want to create the opportunity for competitors to choose to compete in any combination of sports, which maximises the number of competitors in each.
Spectator Experience: The ability to move from sport to sport within the arena, get close up to competition creating an atmosphere that excites both spectator and competitor.
