When is the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony? Date and time of Birmingham 2022 event - how to watch on TV

The Commonwealth Games get underway at the end of the month, and the signal for the official start of the games will be the opening ceremony.

Like with the Olympics, the opening ceremony is a grand event and sees the athletes from every competing nation take to the stadium.

Here’s all you need to know about the ceremony, including how you can watch it on TV and whether or not there are any tickets left to attend.

When is the 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony?

The opening ceremony of the 2022 games will take place at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Thursday, 28 July.

The ceremony is expected to last for roughly three hours, from 8pm to 11pm.

What can we expect from the ceremony?

An estimated 30,000 people will be inside the stadium for the ceremony, and it is predicted that around one billion people will be watching the ceremony from around the world on TV.

According to the BBC, A 1,000-strong choir and the arrival of the Queen’s Baton will feature at the opening ceremony.

Birmingham music heroes Duran Duran have been announced as the headliners at the event and they will be joined by Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and more. See details here.

The BBC added that more than 1,700 people aged from 18-80 auditioned for a slot in the ceremony in March, and a further 205 production volunteers and 30 professional staff have been making around 3,500 costumes since the start of the year for the ceremony.

Will the ceremony be shown on TV?

BBC, who will be providing in depth coverage of the games, will show the opening ceremony live on BBC One.

Daily live TV coverage will be led by Hazel Irvine, Clare Balding, Gabby Logan, Jason Mohammad, Holly Hamilton and Ayo Akinwolere from Thursday 28 July. This includes the opening ceremony.

Are there still tickets available for the opening ceremony?

A fresh batch of tickets for the opening ceremony have been released onto general sale, but only a limited number are still available through the ticket portal.

You can watch the games on TV through BBC and coverage will be available online.

Can I still buy tickets?

The final batch of tickets was released to the public on 19 April 2022, and many of these tickets are still up for grabs.

Tickets for various events are on sale through the official website of the Commonwealth Games.

Lots of sessions of sport are still available, including athletics, T20 cricket and a small selection of tickets for the closing ceremony of the games.

Prices are displayed clearly on the games website, and many events are reasonably priced.

For example, tickets to the T20 group matches cost between £8 and £22.

Other events where tickets are still available include Basketball, Badminton, Cycling and Gymnastics.

To see the full list of available tickets and price options, either log in or make an account on the official Commonwealth Games website.

Where will the Commonwealth Games 2022 be held?

Across the 11 day celebration of sport, 15 venues in Birmingham and the surrounding area will host sessions.

These are listed below.

• Alexander Stadium, Birmingham
• Birmingham Arena
• Cannock Chase Forest
• Coventry Stadium and Arena (Ricoh Arena)
• Edgbaston Cricket Ground
• Lee Valley VeloPark
• The National Exhibition Centre (NEC)
• Sandwell Aquatics Centre 
• Smithfield
• Sutton Park
• University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre
• Victoria Park
• Victoria Square
• Warwick
• West Park

For more information on each venue and information on how to get to each venue, visit theCommonwealth Games website