The Commonwealth Games bring together the countries of the former British Empire every four years. Each time, these sporting events turn into a colourful celebration of sport and human achievement, with thousands of athletes from more than 70 countries taking part in the Games. All participants in these competitions are committed to the basic human values of equality and freedom.
These competitions have gained a reputation as “Friendly Games”, i.e. those where the whole big family of the Commonwealth is united through sport. It is therefore not surprising that Her Majesty The Queen has been the patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation since 1952. And in 2022, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall represented Her Majesty on the opening day of the competition in Birmingham. Read more about the visit at birminghamyes.com.
Start of the visit
On the first day of his visit, the Prince of Wales personally visited the University of Birmingham’s Sports Village. This is where guests and competitors stayed during the Commonwealth Games. That’s 3,500 athletes and other official delegates for a moment. His Royal Highness took a short walk around the Village, during which time he met with team representatives, spoke to volunteers and exchanged views with 122 athletes from 61 teams.16 Of course, there were selfies, as there often are on these occasions.
Later, His Royal Highness visited Victoria Square in Birmingham. This is one of the many venues that hosted the Birmingham Festival, a six-month-long celebration of art, music, food, and culture that was attended by at least 2.5 million people.
More than 150 of the region’s best musicians performed on Victoria Square. There was also delicious food and drink provided by some of Birmingham’s most famous establishments. Among them was Asha’s, an award-winning restaurant. Suffice it to say that it was this restaurant that cooked for the Hollywood film star Tom Cruise.
The prince spent time here, meeting some performers and not forgetting to pay royal attention to the public. And there was a lot of it, as people came to Birmingham from all over the world to enjoy the Games. The festival also featured the works of Birmingham artist Anjulie McKenna. Her paintings are created with paint that does not contain any chemicals.
In addition, the Prince of Wales, together with the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Dame Louise Martin, President of the Commonwealth Games, attended the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The celebration was attended by visiting heads of state and government, as well as presidents and secretaries general of the various Commonwealth Games federations.
The opening ceremony
The final and main event of the day was the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, at which the Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, represented Her Majesty the Queen.
The Prince and Duchess entered the stadium in a modified Aston Martin. It was his own car, the peculiarity of which was that it did not run on petrol or even electricity. The car is powered by a special substance that is obtained from wine and cheese.
Another nice feature was that Their Royal Highnesses were joined by 72 red, white, and blue cars that formed the Union Jack flag. Moreover, all these cars are connected with the automotive industry in Birmingham. After that, smoky red arrows flew over the stadium, adding even more red, white and blue with their coloured smoke trails.
Then the concert programme began with dancing, music and dramatic performances. The main highlight of this performance was a large mechanical bull, as well as the traditional parade of athletes after the baton arrived at the stadium. It should be said that the baton left Buckingham Palace on 7 October 2021. It contained a message from Her Majesty as it travelled to all corners of the Commonwealth.
The Queen’s message
The Prince of Wales then read out the Queen’s message and officially declared the Commonwealth Games open, kicking off 11 days of competition, with thousands of athletes from 72 Commonwealth nations competing in 280 events across 19 sports.
After a 294-day journey to all 72 Commonwealth countries and territories, covering more than 90,000 miles, Queen Elizabeth’s secret message was revealed.
The message was written by the Queen in October 2021 at Buckingham Palace. This specially created rod then left Buckingham Palace to visit all the countries and territories of the Commonwealth. For almost 300 days, it carried the Queen’s message until it returned to the UK, to Birmingham.
The Queen wrote that over the many years of bringing together so many participants in the Games, unforgettable shared experiences, long-standing relationships and friendly rivalries have been forged. But most of all, the Commonwealth Games, according to the Queen, remind us of the connection with each other, where everyone was part of the Commonwealth family.
Prince Charles continued to read his mother’s message, which said that it was no coincidence that the 2022 Commonwealth Games were taking place in Birmingham. It was a pioneering city that had always attracted people from all over the world throughout its history and welcomed them with hospitality.
The Queen noted that this city symbolises the rich diversity and unity of the Commonwealth, and welcomed everyone who came here. The Queen also thanked everyone who has worked so hard to ensure the success of these special sporting events. She wished every athlete and team triumph, as their hard work and dedication, especially in recent times, has been an inspiration to all.
Queen Elizabeth concluded her address by saying that she was delighted to declare the 22nd Commonwealth Games open.
A look back in history
The Commonwealth Games began in 1930. Back then, they were called the British Empire Games. Since then, the Games have been held every four years. Only two times during the Second World War in 1942, and after its end in 1946, the Games were not held. In 2022, almost half a dozen thousand athletes from 72 countries took part in this multi-sport event.
As for the relay, it was first presented at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958 in Cardiff, Wales. Initially, the journey of the message was only through England and the host country, but since then the baton has expanded considerably.
It is also worth noting that each of these relays, logically, has been started by Queen Elizabeth. This tradition began in 1958. In addition, it was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth who was the patroness of the Commonwealth Games Federation. Prince Edward served as vice-patron.
The address read by Prince Charles in 2022, which was published on the eve of the opening ceremony, also includes a greeting from him. Prince Edward thanked all the participants and organisers for their role in the Games.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex were present at the 22nd Opening Ceremony in Birmingham alongside Prince Charles.
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