Birmingham 2022 organisers expect to have full stadiums come the Commonwealth Games ©Getty Images

Birmingham 2022 expects full capacity crowds at next summer's Commonwealth Games, chief executive Ian Reid has underlined at an appearance before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee.

The delayed Olympics and Paralympic Games in Tokyo were held almost entirely without spectators, with attendance banned at any event held in a Prefecture in a state of emergency, which included Tokyo.

The Commonwealth Games are set to get underway on July 28 next year, and Reid is confident that the event will be hosted with full crowds - as is the case for other sporting events taking place in England currently.

"We are very confident as we sit here now that we can fill stadiums, we can fill live sites and we can have an incredible celebration next summer," said Reid, speaking to the DCMS Committee - a Government body.

"We will have an infrastructure in place that can support a COVID-friendly Games."

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, most sports events in England have been held without crowds. 

Since July 19 this year, however, with COVID-19 restrictions almost entirely pulled back, fans have been allowed to return and recent events such as Premier League games and England's cricket Test matches against India have taken place in front of full stadiums.

Birmingham is preparing to host the Commonwealth Games in less than a year's time ©Getty Images
Birmingham is preparing to host the Commonwealth Games in less than a year's time ©Getty Images

Birmingham 2022 is also targeting a strong financial return from the presence of fans.

Gold Coast 2018 earned £1.3 billion ($1.8 billion/€1.5million), it is claimed, and Reid said Birmingham 2022 wants to exceed that figure.

There has been a £778 million ($1.07billion/€904 million) public investment into the Games, with 70 to 80 per cent ticket sales enough to break even, Reid says.

Reid added that Birmingham 2022 will save money on costs too by using much of the infrastructure that was already in the city and West Midlands region.

"One of the things we’re incredibly proud of, despite the fact there has obviously been significant public investment in these Games, is that they are going to cost considerably less than the last iteration of the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, so we hopefully have started that downward trajectory, you know, driving efficiency," Reid said.

"That’s not compromising on deliverables, that’s actually doing things working closely with the CGF [Commonwealth Games Federation] to deliver things in a more efficient way."