Birmingham 2022: Esports video game championships to be staged as pilot event

An inaugural Commonwealth Esports pilot event is to be held in Birmingham when the city hosts the Commonwealth Games this summer.

Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games.

The Esports Championships will take place at the International Convention Centre in the city centre on August 6 to 7, when the Games is nearing a conclusion.

The competition will feature ‘esports athletes’ from across the Commonwealth.

Led by the Global Esports Federation, it will have different medals organisation and governance to the Commonwealth Games.

The tournament has been sanctioned by the Commonwealth Games Federation executive board to happen at the same time as Birmingham 2022 while being independent of the Games and its programme.

CGF president Dame Louise Martin said in a statement: “I am delighted that we are announcing the first Commonwealth Esports Championships and Commonwealth Esports Forum to take place in Birmingham this summer.

“Esports is continuing to grow dramatically in terms of popularity and participation, particularly amongst young people, and we are continuing to look at ways to explore how it can align with the Commonwealth Sports Movement.

“Commonwealth Esports Championships provides an excellent opportunity to pilot esports close to the Commonwealth Games.

“This will allow us to review the long-term relationship between the Commonwealth Games and esports as we continue to evolve and explore future editions of our event and what they could look like.”

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