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! 

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World Games Basics

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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. 

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Competition Guide

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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.

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Artistic Sports: Artistic Roller Skating, Gymnastics (Aerobics, Rhythmic, and Parkour), and DanceSports (Break, Latin, Rock n Roll, and Standard)

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Ball Sports: Canoe Polo, Fistball, Flag Football, Floorball, Beach Handball, Korfball, Lacrosse, Racquetball, Softball, Squash, and Wheelchair Rugby

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Martial Arts: Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Kickboxing, Muaythai, Sumu, and Wushu

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Precision Sports: Archery (Target, Recurve, and Field Barebow), Billiards (Carom, 9-Ball, and Snooker), Boules (Lyonnaise and Pétanque), and Bowling

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Strength Sports: Powerlifting and Tug of War

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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

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Birmingham Venue Guide

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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.

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Avondale Park: Archery

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Barber Motorsports Park: Airsports (Drone Racing and Canopy Piloting)

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Birmingham CrossPlex: Canoe Polo, Finswimming, Lifesaving, and Artistic Roller Skating

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BJCC/Sheraton: Billiards, Bowling, DanceSport (besides Break), Floorball, Gymnastics (except Parkour), Korfball, Powerlifting

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Boutwell Auditorium: Kickboxing, Muaythai, Sumo

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Birmingham Southern College: Fistball, Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Wushu

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Hoover Met: Softball

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John Carroll High School: Lacrosse

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Legion Field: Flag Football

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Oak Mountain State Park: Canoe Marathon and Waterski & Wakeboard

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Powell Steam Plant: Speed Skating

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Protective Stadium: Air Sports along with the Opening and Closing Ceremonies

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Railroad Park: Duathlon and Orienteering

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Sloss Furnaces: Breakdancing, Parkour, Beach Handball, Sport Climbing

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UAB: Boules, Lacrosse, Racquetball, Squash, Tug of War

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Ticket Guide 

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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.

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Birmingham’s former Mayor Bell accepting the World Games flag at the Closing Ceremony in Wroclow, Poland in 2017. It’s hard to believe our day to host is finally here! All image from The World Games 

TV Watch Guide

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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.

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Entertainment Guide

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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. 

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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.

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We hope you have a wonderful time at the 2022 World Games, and enjoy being part of an exciting moment in the Magic City.

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