Host City: It’s great to be here in Birmingham for SportAccord. How important was hosting the Commonwealth Games for the city and the West Midlands region?

Joel Lavery: We hit the high note with the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The city came alive with sport, and we recognised the power and the impact of an event like the Commonwealth Games. That led us to think about what comes after the Commonwealth Games. We wanted to see if we could attract more events that have purpose, and to know what impact they're going to have.

Host City: How is hosting SportAccord helping to attract more events?

Joel Lavery: SportAccord is one of the events that sits as part of that portfolio that is being paid for by the underspend of £70 million from the Commonwealth Games and the £6 million invested into the major events fund. What better audience could we have than 1,500 world leaders of sport? And so this week it's about meeting people and starting off some of those conversations that we hope will lead to us landing a pipeline of opportunities.

Host City: What activities have you got in the pipeline?

Joel Lavery: We've talked about the Golden Decade of Sport from the Commonwealth Games. In 2026 we'll have the European Athletics Championships and alongside that, we'll have the IWG Women in Sport Global Conference that's happening in this very same venue in two years.  We've also got events like the Kabaddi World Cup, the Urban Sports World Championships, Esports and Judo happening.

Tom Wagner made the announcement here that they've purchased a large piece of land in the east of Birmingham where there's going to be a new development, a new Birmingham City stadium and sports quarter.  I think that's an exciting announcement, when we're talking about the power of sport to transform cities and showcasing the West Midlands’ place at the heart of sport in the UK.

For more information on the West Midlands' sporting offer, please go to: www.meetbirmingham.com/sportingevents #HeartofSport