Birmingham has been officially named as the UK's candidate city to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport made the announcement after both Birmingham and Liverpool put forward initial proposals to the Government.
The city could now go forward to face potential rival cities from Australia, Canada and Malaysia in the race to stage the Games and bring thousands of global athletes and visitors to the city.
Commonwealth Federation judges picked Birmingham ahead of rival Liverpool, impressed by the range of sporting facilities and infrastructure in the city. The city will now work with Government to firm its proposals ahead of the international contest.
The competition to host the Games was opened up after the withdrawal of original host city Durban earlier this year. Timescales to put together the bid, make the decisions and deliver the Games are, as a result, tighter than usual.
With key venues like Alexander Stadium, the NEC Group arenas, the University of Birmingham and Villa Park already in place Birmingham had pitched itself as low cost and deliverable within those three years.
