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Perry was the official mascot of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. The organisers named him Perry after Perry Barr, the area of Birmingham where the games' primary venue, Alexander Stadium is located. He is a bull in reference to Birmingham's historic Bull Ring market. Perry's sports kit relates to the sports of the Commonwealth Games and his medal is meant to symbolise Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. His skin is emblazoned with multicoloured hexagons, to represent equality, diversity and the strength of the Commonwealth family. [1]
The design was inspired by Emma Lou, a ten-year-old girl who won a national competition in 2020. [2] [3] [4] Emma was also the first person to see Perry in full mascot costume. [5] The competition was launched by a former Olympic athlete and gold medal winner, Denise Lewis. [6] Emma received lavish praise for creating "the perfect Games mascot for celebrations across the city, the country and the Commonwealth". [7]
The costumed version of the mascot was engaged in outreach in the run-up to the games, such as on a visit to Wilson Stuart School in Perry Common, [8] House of Commons [9] and a visit to 10 Downing Street where he was accused of photobombing a Sky News report on the day of a confidence vote in Conservative leader Boris Johnson. [10] A plushie version of Perry accompanied the Queen's Baton on its 2021–22 relay around the Commonwealth. [11]
Perry’s Trail, a city-wide mascot trail of 17 Perry statues and eight digital avatars, was launched a week before the opening ceremony to celebrate the games.
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 as the British Empire Games and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has successively run every four years since. The event was called the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and the British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. The event removed the word British from its title for the 1978 Games and has maintained its current name ever since.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August 2002. According to planning, this event was to be held in a country in the United Kingdom as part of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth. England was the only bidder for the event and, in an internal process, Manchester was selected for the 2002 Games ahead of London. The Manchester bid used projects which were part of the failed bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, which were awarded to Sydney, Australia. The 2002 Commonwealth Games was, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing the London 1948 Summer Olympics in terms of teams and athletes participating. The 2002 Commonwealth Games had the largest number of events of any Commonwealth Games in history, featuring 281 events across 17 sports.
The 15th Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 2015 or POM 2015, was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from 4 to 18 July 2015. It was the fifteenth staging of the Pacific Games as well as the third to be hosted in Port Moresby.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018. It was the fifth time Australia had hosted the Commonwealth Games and the first time a major multi-sport had an equal number of events for male and female athletes.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England between 28 July and 8 August 2022. They were the 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games. It was the third and seventh time England and the United Kingdom hosted the Commonwealth Games, respectively.
Alexis Pritchard is a South-African born New Zealand boxer. On 5 August 2012 she became the first New Zealand woman to win an Olympic bout when she beat Tunisia's Rim Jouini in the Round of 16.
Emma Jennifer McKeon, is a retired Australian competitive swimmer. She is an eight-time world record holder, three current and five former, in relays. Her total career haul of 14 Olympic medals following the 2024 Olympic Games made her the most decorated Australian, the third-most decorated swimmer, and the seventh-most decorated athlete in Olympic history and included one gold medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, four gold medals from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and one gold medal from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. With four gold and three bronze medals she was the most decorated athlete across all sports at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and tied for the most medals won by a woman in a single Olympic Games. She also won 20 medals, including five gold medals, at the World Aquatics Championships; and a record 20 medals, including 14 gold, at the Commonwealth Games.
Duncan William MacNaughton Scott is a Scottish swimmer representing Great Britain at the FINA World Aquatics Championships, LEN European Aquatics Championships, European Games and the Olympic Games, and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. Scott made history after winning four medals - more than any other British athlete at a single Olympic Games - in Tokyo 2020, simultaneously becoming Great Britain's most decorated swimmer in Olympic history. With an additional gold and silver medal in Paris 2024 bringing his total to eight, Scott became Scotland's most-decorated Olympian, and is currently tied with Bradley Wiggins as the second most-decorated Olympian in British history. Scott is the only athlete in the top three to still be actively competing, and the only member of the top four who is not a track cyclist.
Margaret Anwen Butten is a Welsh international Bowls competitor for Wales.
Rusila Nagasau is a Fijian rugby union player. She plays rugby sevens for Fiji and was also a representative soccer player. She was included in the squad for the 2016 France Women's Sevens.
Ariarne Elizabeth Titmus is an Australian swimmer. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the women's 400-metre freestyle, having won the event at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics and the world record holder in the long course 200-metre freestyle and 400-metre freestyle events. In 2019 and 2020, she competed representing the Cali Condors in the International Swimming League.
Emma Chelius is a South African swimmer.
Thabiso Dlamini is a Swazi boxer. He competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics. He was a batonbearer for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay when the baton came to his nation in December 2021.
Shauna-Kay Hines is a Jamaican parataekwondo practitioner. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the –58 kg category, having been the only Jamaican representative at the Paralympics competition. Hines also won a bronze medal in Taekwondo at the 2019 Parapan American Games. She was a batonbearer for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay when the baton came to her island in April 2022.
The Queen's Baton Relay for the 2022 Commonwealth Games covered 90,000 miles and visited 72 Commonwealth nations and territories from Birmingham Airport. The journey began at Buckingham Palace on 7 October 2021 and ended in Birmingham during the opening ceremony on 28 July 2022.
Australia competed at the 2022, Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England. It was Australia's 22nd appearance at the Commonwealth Games, having competed at every Games since their inception in 1930.
Scotland competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games at Birmingham, England from 28 July to 8 August 2022. Having competed at every Games since their 1930 inauguration, it was Scotland's twenty-second appearance.
Niue competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England from 28 July to 8 August 2022. It was Niue's sixth appearance at the Games.
Anguilla competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England between 28 July and 8 August 2022. The team participated in the Games for the seventh time.
The opening ceremony for the 2022 Commonwealth Games took place on the evening of Thursday 28 July in the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham. As mandated by the Commonwealth Games Charter, the proceedings of the ceremony combined the formal opening of the sporting event with an artistic performance to showcase the host nation's culture. The 2022 Games were formally opened by Charles, Prince of Wales. The centrepiece of the ceremony was an eight-meter-tall animatronic bull, created by the London-based special effects company Artem. The bull, nicknamed 'Ozzy' after Birmingham-born rockstar Ozzy Osbourne is now on permanent display inside Birmingham New Street train station.