The 2022 Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham will now begin 24 hours later than the original schedule after the CGF Executive Board approved the change of start date following “the significant impact to the international sporting calendar caused by Covid-19.”

The Commonwealth Games were originally scheduled from July 27-August 7 but will now be held from July 28-August 8.

“This slight adjustment to the schedule is the result of multiple collaborative discussions between the leaders of some of the world’s major sporting events. It ensures that Birmingham 2022 will now boast two full weekends of Commonwealth Sport whilst extending the rest and recovery period for those athletes competing in the World Athletics Championships,” said a joint statement from the CGF and Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee.

“The alteration to the opening ceremony date also avoids a potential clash with the semi-finals of the recently rescheduled UEFA Women’s Football Championships, helping to protect and promote the profile of women’s sport,” the statement added.

The global pandemic has forced quite a few changes to the sports calendar in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021. This meant that the 2021 World Athletics Championships, UEFA Women’s Football Championships and a few other events were moved to 2022.

According to the new dates announced for major international events the sports calendar during the 2022 summer will look as follows:

The UEFA Women’s EUROs will take place in England from 6 – 31 July

The World Athletics Championships will take place in Oregon (USA) from 15 – 24 July

The Commonwealth Games will take place in Birmingham from 28 July – 8 August 

The 2022 European Championships will be held in Munich from 11–21 August