Birmingham Commonwealth Games villages gear up for athletes

Three campus villages are preparing to house thousands of athletes competing in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Journalists were given a preview of the one at the University of Birmingham, which has been fully kitted out.

The accommodation is complete with Games-branded duvet covers, dining halls, a gym and general medical care facilities including a dentist.

"We cant wait to start meeting athletes," Ashwin Lokare, from organisers Birmingham 2022 said.

More than 3,000 competitors as well as staff and volunteers from around the Commonwealth will begin arriving from Friday.

"Doing the games and trying to organise this has been a challenge," Mr Lokare said. "But the country and the staff and volunteers here have all come together, pitched in, and it's looking absolutely wonderful."

The university site in Edgbaston also has a number of medical facilities and recreational areas with big screens so athletes can watch the sporting action when they are not competing themselves.

There is also a welcome area, where each team will receive a special welcoming ceremony when they arrive.

Humprey Kayange, chief executive officer for Team Kenya, said: "I have been here a few days, it's looking good, right now it's coming into place.

"It's really exciting to see things in the final stages for the athletes."

Original plans for the games would have seen all athletes accommodated in a single £500m village close to the athletics stadium at Perry Barr, but organisers scrapped the idea blaming delays during the pandemic.

As well as the village in Edgbaston, athletes will also stay at the University of Warwick and the National Exhibition Centre.

The Games open in Birmingham on 28 July and run until 8 August.

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