The World Games are officially in Birmingham! The Opening Ceremony kicks off 10 days of top-tier sports, music, and culture in the Magic City. There are dozens of competitions, two extravagant celebrations, an endless stream of free shows, and so many other decisions that make it feel almost overwhelming for those wanting to support the festivities to find their best way to do so. Where can we watch the competitions? What’s free and what costs money? What are the venues? Fear not Birmingham, the About Town guide is here!
World Games Basics
The World Games is a multi-sport event that brings together the best athletes in competitions that are not contested during the Olympic games. It was formed in 1981, with the first games taking place in Santa Clara, California. They are played every four years. The Birmingham games are the 11th edition and will feature more than 30 sports played by over 3,600 athletes from more than 100 countries.
Competition Guide
The World Games competitions are broken into six categories: Artistic Sports, Ball Sports, Martial Arts, Precision Sports, Strength Sports, and Trend Sports. Here are the sports that can be found in each category.
Artistic Sports: Artistic Roller Skating, Gymnastics (Aerobics, Rhythmic, and Parkour), and DanceSports (Break, Latin, Rock n Roll, and Standard)
Ball Sports: Canoe Polo, Fistball, Flag Football, Floorball, Beach Handball, Korfball, Lacrosse, Racquetball, Softball, Squash, and Wheelchair Rugby
Martial Arts: Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Kickboxing, Muaythai, Sumu, and Wushu
Precision Sports: Archery (Target, Recurve, and Field Barebow), Billiards (Carom, 9-Ball, and Snooker), Boules (Lyonnaise and Pétanque), and Bowling
Strength Sports: Powerlifting and Tug of War
Trend Sports: Air Sports (Canopy Piloting and Drone Racing), Canoe Marathon, Duathlon, Finswimming, Flying Disc, Lifesaving, Orienteering, Roller Sports (Inline Hockey and Speed Skating), Sport Climbing, and Waterski & Wakeboard
Birmingham Venue Guide
There are 15 venues across the Greater Birmingham Metro that will host World Games competitions during the 2022 edition. We break each one down further here.
Avondale Park: Archery
Barber Motorsports Park: Airsports (Drone Racing and Canopy Piloting)
Birmingham CrossPlex: Canoe Polo, Finswimming, Lifesaving, and Artistic Roller Skating
BJCC/Sheraton: Billiards, Bowling, DanceSport (besides Break), Floorball, Gymnastics (except Parkour), Korfball, Powerlifting
Boutwell Auditorium: Kickboxing, Muaythai, Sumo
Birmingham Southern College: Fistball, Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Wushu
Hoover Met: Softball
John Carroll High School: Lacrosse
Legion Field: Flag Football
Oak Mountain State Park: Canoe Marathon and Waterski & Wakeboard
Powell Steam Plant: Speed Skating
Protective Stadium: Air Sports along with the Opening and Closing Ceremonies
Railroad Park: Duathlon and Orienteering
Sloss Furnaces: Breakdancing, Parkour, Beach Handball, Sport Climbing
UAB: Boules, Lacrosse, Racquetball, Squash, Tug of War
Ticket Guide
The World Games have created a very convenient detailed schedule that breaks down each day by event, along with the ticket price of each specific competition. A few, like orienteering, are free, but most range from $19.75 to $39.75. You can plan your World Games routine there, then easily found your competition online. There are also a variety of VIP and Skybox ticket deals for select events and ceremonies. There is also a 10% military discount.
TV Watch Guide
The Birmingham Organizing Committee for the World Games made an agreement with CBS Sports that will have the network displaying a total of 12 hours of event coverage. This will include 10 daily one-hour competition recaps and two separate hour-long specials that will be shown on CBS Television Network and steamed on Paramount+ Premium. Competitions will also be streamed on Olympic Channel Services (OCS) and games can be watched live at Olympics.com.
Entertainment Guide
We recently shared an article on the many music moments that are going to take place over the 10 days of The World Games. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies are two certain highlights. The Opening event features stars like Nelly, Sara Evans, Shelia E., Tony! Toni! Tone!, Yolanda Adams, Bootsy Collins, Alabama, Ruben Studdard, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks, and Worth The Wait. The Closing Ceremony features the headlining performance of Alabama-native Lionel Ritchie, who will be playing for the first time in his home state in over two decades. It will also feature Alabama, a duet between Blind Boys of Alabama and Jamey Johnson, Martha Reeves, Pastor Mike Jr., and Young Bleu (along with Studdard, Bice, and Hicks singing together on stage and another performance by Worth The Wait.
There will also be free music, fashion, fire shows, and all sorts of other fun events all day every day from July 7th to the 17th thanks to the World Games 2022 Plaza and the Civil Rights District Marketplace. Lupe Fiasco, Big Boi, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters highlight an incredible 10-day festival that features local favorites like Ashley Sankey, Spex Da Great, Rebecca Egeland, Wescam, Classified Alias, DJ Gap Toof, and many more.
We hope you have a wonderful time at the 2022 World Games, and enjoy being part of an exciting moment in the Magic City.
