Tickets for children in care

The organisers of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will provide up to 5,000 tickets to ensure every child in care in Birmingham, their carers and supporters, can attend the Games. This is part of an ongoing commitment to leave a lasting legacy for all young people in the city.

The initiative is a collaboration between Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, Birmingham City Council, and Birmingham Children’s Trust. The partnership will ensure that every child in care in Birmingham has the chance to attend the biggest sporting event ever held in the West Midlands, inspiring a generation of young people in the city.

The tickets are being provided by the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and will be allocated through the Birmingham Children’s Trust.

The announcement comes just a few days after the Birmingham 2022 West Midlands ticket ballot was launched, giving all residents of the host region an exclusive chance to apply for tickets first.

To coincide with the opening of the ticket ballot, Birmingham 2022 unveiled a newly refurbished basketball court in Summerfield Park in Ladywood. This colourful legacy court is set to help inspire more young people living in the area to participate in the sport.

There are more than one million tickets available for the Games, with ticket prices starting from £8 for under 16s and from £15 for adults. There will also be £22 tickets available for every session throughout the Games, including all medal sessions and the opening and closing ceremonies. More information about tickets, and to set up your ticketing account, are on the Commonwealth Games website.

Abba Loughran, a Birmingham care leaver, Corporate Parenting Health Mentor, and co-chair of the Bfriends Charity at Birmingham Children’s Trust, said:

“By making up to 5,000 free tickets available for our young people, their carers and supporters, to attend the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham means that they will have an incredible once in a lifetime experience. For many this will be the first ever time they will be able to experience a large-scale international sports event in their home city.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Birmingham’s children in care and care leaver community and I am honoured to share the news with my peers.

“Not only will young people be able to attend and see the Games firsthand, it will be an experience in itself for our generation to be able to be part of the incredible legacy that Birmingham 2022 will create. It will also mean that our young people will have potential job and volunteer opportunities whilst the Games are taking place.”

John Crabtree, Chair of the Birmingham 2022 board said:

“Every day we are striving to seek what can seem the impossible – to truly deliver the Games for Everyone. These Games are full of opportunity – from new jobs, improved skills, to volunteering, but bringing those to everyone is inevitably a challenge. The incredible feats and skills that will be on display next year, the transformational power of sport, will inspire, and creating the capacity to make these tickets available in this way is a small but important step for us.”

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said:

“We want this to be the Games for Everyone, so I'm delighted we have secured such a generous allocation of Birmingham 2022 tickets for children in care in this city thanks to the efforts of everyone at the council and the Birmingham Children’s Trust.

“This initiative is a great way to enable children in care to fully enjoy the 11 days of fantastic sporting action and everything else that will be going on during this once in a generation event.

“Sport has the power to inspire as well as empower and entertain, so I can think of no better way for these young people to benefit from its transformational power than by being there as the best of Commonwealth Sport is played out in our city.”

Andy Couldrick, Chief Executive of Birmingham Children’s Trust, said:

“I am delighted that a generous allocation of tickets is being made to enable Birmingham’s children and young people in care, care leavers, and their carers and supporters to experience this great event in their home city.

“It will offer once in a lifetime experiences and the whole event must inspire our young people to be the best they can be, whether on a sports field or in whatever path they follow.”