Commonwealth Games: Birmingham announced as host of 2022 event
Birmingham has been named host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games - the most expensive sports event to be held in Britain since the London Olympics.
The city's bid was the only one submitted to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) by the deadline of 30 September, after it was chosen ahead of Liverpool as Britain's candidate.
The CGF initially deemed the city's bid was "not fully compliant".
However, it has now been confirmed as the host of the £750m event.
West Midlands mayor Andy Street described the announcement as a "fantastic Christmas present for our region".
The bidding process has been beset with problems, with the South African city of Durban awarded the Games in 2015 before being stripped of the event because it did not meet the CGF criteria.
After Birmingha...