When and where do the Games take place?
The quadrennial multi-sport event officially kicks off in Birmingham with an opening ceremony at 4.45am (AEST) on Friday 29 July. The competition starts a few hours later at 5.30pm (AEST) with lawn bowls and lawn bowls. The closing ceremony is scheduled for 5.15am (AEST) on Tuesday 9 August.
The competition will be spread across 15 West Midlands venues, with seven of them in Birmingham, the UK’s second largest city with a population of 1.15 million. It is the first time since Manchester 2002 that England has hosted a Commonwealth Games and the third overall after London in 1934.
How can I follow the action and will I have to stay up all night?
It depends on your level of commitment. Aussies on the East Coast can expect a nine-hour time difference, meaning the options (during waking hours) are to watch in the evening or in the morning. Swim sessions generally fall during prime time, with finals starting early the next morning. Similarly, morning athletics sessions start at prime time and evening sessions early the following morning.
The Guardian will be live blogging every day during the Games, so you won’t miss any medals won and can keep up to date with the latest news, features and commentary from our team.
Australian track cyclists train at the London Velodrome. Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
The Seven Network is the host broadcaster and will begin its evening coverage from 19:00 AEST and continue until 05:30 AEST on Seven, 7Plus and up to 30 dedicated channels.
What are the sports?
Aquatics (diving and swimming), athletics, badminton, 3×3 basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cricket (Twenty20), cycling (mountain bike, road and track), gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic), field hockey, judo, lawn bowls , netball, powerlifting, rugby sevens, squash, table tennis, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling.
Birmingham will also boast the largest ever para-sports program including athletics, cycling, lawn bowling, para-triathlon, powerlifting, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair basketball.
Ash Gardner and the World Cricket Team aim for gold in Birmingham. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP
What new sports have been added?
Women’s T20 cricket will be included for the first time and will be played at Edgbaston. 3×3 basketball, 3×3 wheelchair basketball and table tennis also make their debut.
Which countries compete?
A total of 72 different countries and territories are participating, making these Games the biggest to date.
Australia is one of six countries, along with New Zealand, Canada, England, Scotland and Wales, to have sent athletes to every edition of the Games since their inception in 1930.
Some teams look a little different at the Olympics and Paralympics. Team GB, for example, does not compete under one flag at the Commonwealth Games, but is divided into seven constituent parts, namely England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey each compete separately.
In terms of population, the smallest is Niue, an island nation in the South Pacific with a population of 1,648. They send a team of 15 with 10 bowlers, four boxers and a weightlifter.
The full list is as follows: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, England, Swaziland, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guernsey, Guyana, India, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru , New Zealand, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Scotland, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore , Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Gambia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Wales, Zambia.
How will it go in Australia?
History and current form indicate very well. In its 21 Games contested, Australia has topped the medals table 13 times. The highest overall haul was 221 medals at Melbourne 2006 and the highest amount of gold (87) was at the 1994 edition in Victoria, Canada.
At the most recent Games, on the Gold Coast in 2018, Australia won 80 gold, 59 silver and 59 bronze medals (198 in total) to finish top of the table ahead of second-placed England with 136 total (45 gold, 45 silver, 46 bronze).
England may benefit from home advantage this time, but Australia will compete in all sports and expectations remain high. The absence of sporting powerhouses such as the United States, China, Republic of Korea (Russia) and Japan also significantly boosts Australia’s gold medal prospects. With a record total of 932 golds, the team is on track to win its 1,000th gold in Birmingham.
(Top row, left to right) Ridge Barredo, Sharni Williams, Maurice Longbottom, Ellie Cole; (bottom row, left to right) Charlotte Caslick, Jake Lappin and Tina Rahimi. Photo: Matt King/Getty Images
Who makes up the Australian team?
Australia is sending 435 athletes including 351 healthy athletes, 76 para-athletes and eight guides, making it the second largest contingent ever behind Gold Coast 2018. They will be led by Chef de Mission Petria Thomas.
The team, of which more than half will make their debut, has an age range of almost 50 years. The youngest is diver Charli Petrov, 14, and the oldest bowler, Cheryl Lindfield, 63, both debutants.
The team will also feature a record number of Indigenous athletes, namely Taliqua Clancy (Beach Volleyball), Indiana Cooper (Athletics), Ashleigh Gardner (Cricket), Maurice Longbottom (Rugby Sevens), Callum Peters (Boxing) , Ruby Storm (swimming). , Brandon Wakeling (weightlifting), Mariah Williams (hockey), Ally Wilson (3×3 basketball) and Alex Winwood (boxing).
What are Australia’s best medal chances?
Ariarne Titmus, Emma McKeon, Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Ellie Cole (Swimming), Peter Bol, Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson and Madison de Rozario (Athletics) are ready to shine, along with the track cycling team , table tennis team, women’s cricket team and netball team. Here’s a full rundown of Australia’s best medal hopes.