Games CEO speaks of legacy and challenges of setting up event

Ian Reid has worked as CEO for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee since May 2020, when he was named as the interim chief executive, with the role becoming official at the start of last year.

The 42-year-old from Kilmacolm, near Glasgow, has previous experience working with the Commonwealth Games, having been the chief financial officer for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, working on that edition of the event for more than six years.

Following the 2014 Games, he was appointed to lead the Commercial Finance team and join the Board of Funkin Cocktails at AG Barr plc and also worked as the Glasgow Housing Association’s chief financial planner.

He has been at the forefront of the work organising the largest event ever to be staged in the West Midlands, with competition in 17 sports over 11 days in venues in Birmingham, Sandwell, Wolverhampton, Dudley and across the region.

In the lead up to the opening ceremony on Thursday, July 28, Mr Reid said he felt the preparations had gone well and the Games were looking in good shape.

He said: "Generally, I think we're in good shape and the things we can control are looking good as we are on target and still on budget and we're very much into the testing and readiness phase.

"We're working through a lot of desktop exercises and some simulations and we've tested a couple of the new venues, with events out in Sandwell at the Aquatics Centre and at Alexander Stadium, plus the teams are working hard at the temporary venues.

"I've been out at Smithfield and Sutton Park and I've seen the new megastore and the displays going up in the city and bringing it to life, so I'm sitting here very optimistic, not complacent as we have a bit to do, but looking forward to it."

Mr Reid said one of the biggest priorities ahead of the start of the Games were selling tickets, with more than 1.2 million tickets sold so far, but some events were still looking for people to buy tickets.

He said: "We have done really well with selling tickets, but we do have events such as Rugby Sevens, cricket, beach volleyball and badminton, so we're really keen to get as near as capacity as possible at these venues.

"A lot of marketing and promotional materials have gone out and we're finding there are two types of buyers: Those who are organised and get themselves sorted early and those who wait until the last minute to see what is still available.

"We will get quite a significant uplift in sales, but it is important to us that we try and max out that as much as we can."

Mr Reid took on his current role on an interim basis in May 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and said it had been a challenge to organise the Games during that time, but also said the biggest challenges had been through trying to fill roles with people and the uncertainty around transport.

He said: "It was obviously a challenge during Covid as it meant operating in a limited environment, but we managed to get through it and we don't tend to dwell on it.

"We've found the bigger challenge has been the labour market as there are a lot of jobs out there that we are competing against and not as many applicants, so we've put a lot of effort into a marketing campaign to recruit people and get behind them by attracting as many people as we can.

"That's been one of the big challenges, alongside the uncertainty around transport and the threat of strikes, so we've had to built levels of resilience to ensure we can deal with it, because don't forget we are bringing 17 sports, which will all be take place at the same time.

"There's a big focus on getting the public and businesses to understand how the city is going to change, what roads will be closed, what days might be busier and how we would recommend people should take public transport over the Games, so we've had to roll up our sleeves and just get on with it."

Other challenges facing the organising committee have been putting together an athletes village, with the initial plan for one village having to be changed to a three-village solution due to time and money lost from Covid-19.

However, despite all the challenges, Mr Reid said he had a great team behind him, with lots of people with relevant experience and said the Games would propel a lot of those working on it to careers travelling the world and exporting their talents to other events.

He also spoke about the work being done to get the Games venues ready and praised the different organisations behind the regenerated and new venues.

He said: "I'm hugely proud of the new venues, although I will say that we as an organising committee can't take much credit for the two new venues and should formally put on record what the teams at Sandwell and Birmingham City Council have done to put on these projects and the contractors who did an amazing job.

"The best thing that came from these projects was back in the dark days of Covid, when there was uncertainty about health and safety and whether they could keep working, but there was a real drive from those workers to say 'this is our region, we're hugely proud to host these Games and we'll make it work one way or the other'.

"They pushed on and the outcomes are quite incredible and what's brilliant is that in addition to the great venues for the Games is the legacy these venues will bring as they were both built for the community and there's no chance, I believe, in these venues becoming white elephants as they will be there for the public."

Speaking of legacy, Mr Reid said there were a number of strands that he saw as legacy from the Games.

He said: "Firstly, there's the infrastructure that will see these venues become incredible assets for the community, as well as accelerating other works that might have taken a number of years, such as tram works.

"Additionally, there is the long term economic and tourism benefits that the Games offer as an asset and that is priceless in terms of putting the region on the world map, plus we have all this incredible coverage by the BBC from Centenary Square and the other events going on around the region.

"There's no doubt that the whole perception of Birmingham and the West Midlands and that drive to bring in future visitors and economic benefits will be a huge legacy."

Heading into the Games, Mr Reid said he wouldn't be able to watch a lot of sport due to his role and being in meetings and other engagements, but said he would make an effort to watch what he could and listed his favourites.

He said: "I'll try and jump in and out of events where I can and I'm really looking forward to the women's cricket, which is a big thing as it's the first time we've held the women's event and all the top nations are competing.

"There is no doubt that the swimming and diving at the Aquatics centre will be incredible and while I won't get the chance to sit and watch sport all day, I know there will be a lot of highlights.

"The proudest moment will be walking through some of the towns and cities that are hosting live events and see people enjoying themselves and taking pride at what is happening in their region."