Design competition for Commonwealth Games presentation items launched

Designers, manufacturers and tradespeople are invited to enter a competition via a procurement process to supply bespoke presentation items – traditionally offered by the Proud Host City to people such as Heads of State, dignitaries, representatives from sporting federations and businesses.

Items will be chosen that best reflect Birmingham and will be judged against the following criteria:

• Innovative – creating an item which is bold and advanced in its design and creation;
• Relevant – we are Birmingham and we want our item to represent our unique city;
• Compelling – we want to provoke interest and admiration in a powerful way linking back to our communities and city;
• Legacy and reputation – this will be part of the continuing legacy for our Proud Host City. We want it to be a talking point and be bold, standing apart from other items.

The items must be portable, durable, sustainable, ethically sourced and adhere to travel guidelines (e.g. no food or perishable items) as they will be given to people from across the Commonwealth and beyond during the summer of 2022.

The intellectual property rights of all winning designs will be owned by Birmingham City Council. The winning items will be displayed at a location to be confirmed in Birmingham as part of the legacy of the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “Although this is not directly related to the staging of a successful Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the presentation item programme for the Proud Host City is critical for a range of reasons.

“We want to uphold the city’s envied reputation for offering a warm welcome to guests as well as the tradition of offering an item of appreciation for them to remember their stay here. This helps develop relationships and potentially contribute to opening further opportunities for our city.

“This is a very clear way in which we can demonstrate the Games are more than 11 days of fantastic sporting action. Birmingham’s creative and innovative businesses now have a wonderful opportunity to have their work showcased to an influential international audience at a time when the sector needs our support following the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I hope we receive many proposals as I know the talent is out there to develop something that tells our city’s story and shows what it means to be bold and be Birmingham.”

To apply, please visit the council’s portal for advertising tender opportunities. The closing date is midday on Friday 30 September 2021.