Record number of visitors from across the globe enjoy all Birmingham has to offer

Shops, bars and restaurants in Birmingham city centre have never been so busy as visitors and residents alike flocked to the city’s squares and open spaces to enjoy the Commonwealth Games.

More than five million people came to the city centre during the two-week beginning 25 July, with 4.62m visiting during the actual Games period of 28 July to 08 August, according to figures from Central Business Improvement District (BID).

The busiest day was Saturday 6 August with 455,556 visitors. And Games week beat the busiest Christmas week in 2021 (pay weekend 29 Nov 2021 - 2,373,223 visitors) by 491,955.

Councillor Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “We were always determined that the people and businesses of Birmingham would benefit from the Games and these figures just underline what a fantastic couple of weeks this has been for the city, with record numbers of people visiting from across the country and around the world.

Everywhere you went during the Games, the streets, shops, bars and restaurants were busy and buzzing, and in addition to Brummies coming into town to join in the fun, it’s been great to see people from around the world enjoying the city – as bars, restaurants and hotels have filled up, and I have no doubt that many of these visitors will be back, because they now know what a fantastic, welcoming city Birmingham is."

Matt Lockren, General Manager at Purity-owned Purecraft Bar and Kitchen said: “The Commonwealth Games was a massive success for the city, and for Purecraft Bar and Kitchen. Both the main bar and our secondary bar, provided by Colmore BID at the Victoria Square festival site, welcomed thousands of guests from across the globe. After a challenging two years for hospitality, the Games showed the benefits that large event tourism can bring to the city. We hope this marks the beginning of a new, bold approach to market Birmingham as one of the UK’s great tourist destinations.”

Nicola Fleet-Milne, Chair of Colmore Business District said:

“The Commonwealth Games has shown the world what we’ve known for many years – Birmingham is a fantastic city, full of vibrancy, diversity and ambition. Colmore Business District is proud to have supported Birmingham City Council and the Organising Committee to deliver a fantastic city centre experience to the thousands of visitors that came for the Games. The stage is now set for Birmingham to make the most of the legacy of the Games and again, we will be supporting Birmingham City Council to make sure Birmingham continues to be a thriving, successful city. It’s time to Be Bold. It’s time to Be Birmingham.”