Best seat in the house at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Colleagues across our offices enjoyed one of the largest international sporting events, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which ended on Monday 8 August.

Of the 13,000+ volunteers, two of them included HCR’s Laura Banks of the Private Client team, who was in Event Services for the women’s T20 cricket, and Gurinder Hayer of the Commercial team, who was a venue host for weightlifting at the NEC Arena.

As a presenter, Gurinder was responsible for keeping spectators informed and engaged throughout the competition. His enthusiasm and commitment to the role was recognised among athletes and even the President of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), who praised the “football stadium” atmosphere.

Reflecting on its impact on the local community, Rebecca Leask – Head of Birmingham office – said: “To have the 2022 Commonwealth Games on our doorstep and be at the centre of the buzz across the 11 days is something I will not forget. It was also amazing to bear witness to all the incredible local volunteers who gave up their time to help, including our own.

“A huge well done to Laura and our roving reporter, Gurinder, whose commitment and enthusiasm was a big talking point among the athletes and organisers!”

Gurinder shares his experience below:

Tell us more about how you came to be a presenter at the 2022 Commonwealth Games?

I was selected through the Talent Search auditions, run by the organisers of the Games to find a venue host for each of the respective sports. Essentially, I had an in-venue role live in front of a packed house (1,700 – 1,800 people) so that spectators at the summer’s must-see sporting event were informed, engaged and inspired. I was responsible for leading the pre-show and for the live links, athlete interviews, spectator engagement and ensuring fans had all the info they needed to get involved and invested during each action-packed day.

Which event(s) did you cover?

Weightlifting (aka the NEC Party Hall!)

What was your favourite event?

Women’s 87KG+class presenting/hosting the session for our England Flag Bearer, Emily Campbell – seeing her lift gold was incredible! I also had the honour of interviewing Dame Kelly Holmes during this session, which you can watch here.

Birmingham was absolutely brimming with excitement during the Games – have you been able to enjoy it?

Yes, of course! I had the best seat in the house whilst hosting the weightlifting. I would have liked to get down to other sports but given my hosting commitments last week, it was difficult.

What was the atmosphere like during such an eventful two weeks? 

In one word: buzzing. Birmingham has responded to the CWG in proper brummie fashion.  I am sure people now realise why we are called the ‘Second City’.

I’ve had some great messages from so many people at HCR who offered their congratulations and expressed how proud they were. It was also a pleasure to see my colleague Dan De Saulles, who came down to watch a session.