Council hands over Aquatics Centre to Birmingham 2022

6th July 2022

Sandwell Council officially handed over the keys to Sandwell Aquatics Centre to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games last week. The newly completed venue will host the swimming, para swimming and diving competitions – more medal events than any other venue. 

There will be six days of swimming and para swimming at the centre – 25 events for men, 25 for women, plus mixed relay events. The diving will include springboard and platform events, and mixed synchronised diving for the first time ever at the Commonwealth Games. There will also be activities for visitors alongside the sporting competitions.

After the games, 4,000 temporary seats will be removed and some additional leisure facilities added. The centre will then be handed back to the council to reopen as a community leisure facility in the summer of 2023.

The Mayor of Sandwell, councillor Richard Jones presented the keys to Joanna Rolfe, venue general manager on behalf of Birmingham 2022. She said: “The Sandwell Aquatics Centre is a fantastic facility, and we are delighted that it is part of our venue portfolio for the Commonwealth Games. Tickets for the aquatics events have been hugely popular and so we are expecting full crowds, which means the swimmers, para swimmers and divers will experience an amazing atmosphere during the competition.”

Leader of Sandwell Council, councillor Kerrie Carmichael, said: “This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our construction partners, who worked diligently throughout the project and a global pandemic to complete this venue on time and on budget.”