After celebrating the work of volunteers last week, join the collective for more opportunities to get involved in next year.
Volunteering applications are now open for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The Games is the largest sporting and cultural event ever to be held in the West Midlands and with 413 days left until it begins, you can work to secure your place as volunteer at the Commonwealth Games in England for the first time since 2002.
The Games is searching for more than 13,000 volunteers for next year’s Games, opening applications in conjunction with Volunteers’ Week 1-7 June 2021. Volunteers will make up a community of passionate individuals that will play a vital role in delivering the Games next year.
Dubbed the “Commonwealth Collective”, this volunteer group will be reflective of the diversity of the West Midlands region as well as the modern Commonwealth. Members of this volunteering collective will represent the experience of the Games for athletes, officials, spectators and the over one-billion strong audience over the contest.
Positions are available for drivers, first aiders, meet & greeters, venue preppers, kit carriers, courtside assistants, and much more. Roles will provide training in full, with around 250,000 training hours set to take place, so whether you’re a volunteering veteran, or signing up for the first time, you will be fully prepared when the Games begin in 2022.
Applicants must be aged 18 by 1 January 2022 and can select preferred areas of interest which include Event Services, Accreditation, Transport, Sport and Media. A young volunteer programme for 14–17-year-olds will begin recruitment in the autumn.
25,000 applicants will be shortlisted before interviews take place at the Volunteer Selection Centre between September and December 2021 at the Library of Birmingham. Successful volunteers will be notified with a role offer from January 2022.
Five-time Paralympic swimming champion and Birmingham 2022 board member, Ellie Simmonds, said: “Volunteers are the heartbeat of the Commonwealth Games, the unsung heroes that allow us as athletes to succeed. Volunteering at Birmingham 2022 will be a unique opportunity to contribute to the community and experience a home Games, so I’d encourage people of the West Midlands to submit an application. Even my parents and my coach are going to apply!”
John Crabtree, Birmingham 2022 Chairman, commented: “The pandemic has seen so many wonderful examples of people coming together to support their neighbours and each other and has served to underline what we have always known – that we are stronger together. We will now see this first-hand at Birmingham 2022 with the formidable Commonwealth Collective. Our volunteers will be part of something special and the Collective will celebrate the unique qualities of each and every one of them. We know that together the Collective will be a shining example of the best of the human spirit.”
Birmingham City Council Leader Ian Ward stated: “Birmingham’s greatest asset has always been its people and their warmth. This is a friendly, supportive city and our diverse and proud communities, which represent all parts of the Commonwealth, will ensure that everyone coming to Birmingham for the Games is given a warm welcome. I know that our committed and enthusiastic team of volunteers will do the city proud, showing the world just how bold Birmingham really is.”
