Athletics on a mission to repeat Birmingham 2022 success story

Alexander Stadium was sold-out and buzzing for six days, so why do we struggle to fill the stands for Diamond Leagues and national championships?

Around 360,000 people packed into the Alexander Stadium to watch athletics at this month’s Commonwealth Games. Falling 10 years after the London Olympics and Paralympics, Birmingham came close to replicating the atmosphere and feel-good factor in a smaller arena. Altogether it was a huge success, but the burning question is: how can the sport bottle up the magic and repeat it at other events?

Seb Coe arrived in the West Midlands from the World Under-20 Champs in Colombia for the final weekend of the Games and he must have been wondering why the global governing body’s Diamond League series struggles to attract similar crowds. Even last month’s World Championships – the sport’s flagship event in the self-proclaimed ‘Track Town’ of Eugene, Oregon – did not enjoy the same crowds and atmosphere as Britain’s second city did in recent days.

A few sessions at the World Champs were sold out, but even during busy sessions there were plenty of empty seats when the action was in full swing. The theory was that American spectators prefer to drift around the arena, watching the sport on TV screens in the concourse or queuing for hotdogs, popcorn and beer.

Still, it was the World Championships, in all its splendour. Logically it should have been able to attract bigger and more vibrant crowds than a mere Commonwealth Games which has been viewed in some quarters as struggling for relevance given its out-dated ethos and links to the British empire.

What’s more, the Games were hit by a number of big-name athlete drop-outs due to injuries or indifference. Athletes had not surprisingly prioritised Eugene and in some notable cases had to withdraw from the Commonwealths, whereas others skipped the event to focus on the Diamond League.

So why is the Commonwealth Games still so popular? Birmingham is not an anomaly either as events in Glasgow in 2014, Manchester in 2002 and Australia in 2006 and 2018 were also superbly busy.

Firstly it has a solid brand, it has been covered extensively on mainstream television for decades and is embedded in the consciousness of people from Commonwealth countries. Its history dates back to Hamilton in 1930 and over that time it has built the reputation as the ‘friendly games’. Its multi-sport nature also means the host city is buzzing with…