Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games set out to be the most sustainable yet and behind the scenes, Host Broadcaster Sunset+Vine played a central role in making that ambition real. Producing 2000 hours of coverage over 11 days, across multiple venues with a 1500-strong crew, the scale was immense. So was the opportunity.
Big stage. Bigger responsibility
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games set out to be the most sustainable yet and behind the scenes, Host Broadcaster Sunset+Vine played a central role in making that ambition real. Producing 2000 hours of coverage over 11 days, across multiple venues with a 1500-strong crew, the scale was immense. So was the opportunity.

For an event of this size, the logistical requirements were always going to be the primary focus. The Commonwealth team knew that transport, travel, catering and accommodation all needed an approach that could deliver measurable benefits.

They started with a ‘No-Fly’ policy for the pre-production phase, firm in the belief that they could enable their Australian Aquatics Director to plan his camera coverage remotely, without the need to do any surveys in person. A small thing, but one that proves that with the right tools, anything is possible. At Games Time, it became ‘only necessary flights’ for just a handful of people. This represents a 90% reduction in air travel versus previous editions of the Games. They achieved this by challenging the norm.

Major events like the Olympics and sporting World Cups are reliant on a travelling core of professionals who work almost exclusively on these events. They’re experts in their field and incredibly good at what they do, but the cost to the environment is huge. With so much talent on their doorstep, they took the decision to recruit the majority of production personnel and technicians from the UK market. Further to this, 15% of the Host Broadcast team came from the West Midlands.

 

What else was implemented?

01.

Transport
Crew have been encouraged to make their journeys to the West Midlands by train, and S+V have created schedules that allow them to do that. As soon as cheap tickets went on sale, S+V messaged crew to let them know so that there could be no doubt about how crew were expected to travel.

02.

Accommodation
S+V secured as much accommodation for crew as close to venues as possible to encourage walking & biking, and reduce the need for driving

03.

No flights in pre-production
Zero flights were scheduled during pre production. Specialist directors from Australia and New Zealand planned their coverage via Teams and worked out their camera plans based on photographs and maps of venues, which negated the need for them to fly over.

04.

Only necessary flights at Games Time
Previous Commonwealth Games have necessitated at least 30 flights pre games and over 300 flights during game time. This year, only 20 flights are scheduled for commentators, two directors and one Broadcast Venue Manager.

05.

Catering
Caterers were mostly small local enterprises. One, “Tastes Good, Does Good”, donated 5% of every corporate booking to charity and regularly hosted pop-ups to support local community initiatives. Minimising food waste was also a priority, and all caterers were aligned to meet this objective. Menus were free from beef, with the vegetarian option of the day given top billing. Drinking water came from taps, and broadcast compounds were free from single-use plastic.

06.

Second-hand furnishing
The Organising Committee’s offices are furnished with second hand furniture, via a company called Harrow Green. For the International Broadcast Centre, S+V have not only sourced second hand furniture (which previously belonged to Sandwell Council) but arranged for Harrow Green to pick it up and store it until the International Broadcast Centre is up and running.

07.

Crew clothing
Crew clothing is being made by a husband & wife team in Birmingham who are committed to making quality clothing from ethically sourced organic cotton. The printing process also uses ink that doesn’t harm the environment. Quality is key so that none of it ends up in the bin and crew have the option of handing their clothing back post event for re-distribution, via a charity called Kits for Causes.

08.

Power Management
The Organising Committee appointed Aggreko to manage power at venues, and worked closely with them to ensure that emissions are kept to a minimum. They have ‘right-sized’ the power plan and grid power will be used as mains power wherever feasible.

09.

Reducing ground transport
The ‘Feet First’ initiative was all about reducing ground transport. The majority of teams were accommodated close enough to their venues to walk to work. It may sound like a simple fix, but securing rooms close to venues for such vast numbers of people during a major event required dogged determination.

10.

Community travel and local impact
The ‘Bring your Bike to Birmingham’ message was another initiative to encourage sustainable travel and support a local charity. They pledged to donate 100 bicycles to ‘The Bike Project’, which takes in second-hand bikes and refurbishes them for distribution to refugees, helping them to access essential services and reduce isolation.

11.

Crew uniforms
Crew uniforms were supplied by a small local business that champions the slow fashion movement, putting people and the planet first. Using only ethically sourced fabric and non-toxic printing methods, crew were kitted out in quality clothing designed not to end up in the bin. At the end of the event, at least one item of clothing was collected from each crew member to donate to three charities: Acorn Children’s Hospice, St Mary’s Hospice and Kits4Causes. A circular approach was created across the production.

12.

Industry collaboration
Support was provided by UK OB (Outside Broadcast) suppliers, who made contractual commitments to offset emissions from Games Time operations – including the movement of OB trucks, motorbikes, helicopters and people.

13.

Social value
All commitments were captured and analysed by the Social Value Portal, an online resource for public and private sector organisations to measure, monitor and benchmark the social value they generate. The team remained focused on the opportunities to deliver social value and reflected on what was possible through the process.

Hear from the team

“From the outset, we drew inspiration from the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee’s Social Values Charter, which detailed the core values that would underpin this edition of the Games and shape future editions. We were left in no doubt that we needed to challenge ourselves to create a strategy that would deliver a positive environmental and socio-economic legacy for the region. Our legacy commitments had to be ambitious and attainable. The ability to evidence our achievements was key.”
Ruth Hayman, Host Broadcast COO
“Our greatest legacy for the region will be our Host Broadcast Training Initiative. Over the last two years we’ve engaged with people from communities, colleges and universities across the West Midlands in an attempt to identify and train up the next generation of television professionals. Our mission has been to target those most underrepresented in our industry and give them an opportunity to take their first step on the career ladder. We’ve selected 150 local people to work with us on the Host Broadcast at Games Time and we’ll continue to mentor them long after the Games has finished.”
Ruth Hayman, Host Broadcast COO

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