Commonwealth Games: 150,000 condoms ordered for Birmingham 2022

‘It isn’t such a big number,’ insists Birmingham’s adult public health services manager as each participant set to be given 23 contraceptives to use over competiton’s 12-day duration

The total is actually 10,000 fewer than were handed out at the Tokyo Olympics last summer (Getty/iStockphoto)

The Commonwealth Games 2022, which will be held in Birmingham from 28 July to 8 August, is set to hand out no fewer than 150,000 condoms to competitors this summer.

With 6,500 athletes and team officials arriving in the Midlands to take part, that amounts to 23 prophylactics per person distributed at the NEC Hotel Campus and at the University of Birmingham and University of Warwick student halls of residence where the participants will be living for the duration of the competition.

The total was revealed during a meeting of the Birmingham City Council health and social care overview and scrutiny committee where Dr Karl Beese, the council’s commissioning manager for adult public health services, downplayed the provision, saying: “It isn’t such a big number.”

“We have met with the Commonwealth Games organising committee round contraception and the signposting to services and what we have found is predominantly, it’s for the athletes and the team entourages where contraception is required,” Dr Beese said.

“There was an expectation of 50,000 condoms across the three Commonwealth Games sites, so 150,000 in total.

“So there won’t be any issues in terms of supply and we are due to meet in the very near future with Pam Venning – who is the chief medical officer in charge of the Commonwealth Games from that side of it.

"So that is all being worked on but I must admit when they say ‘can we have 150,000 condoms?’ it makes you realise the extent of it.”

The total is actually 10,000 fewer than were handed out at the delayed Tokyo Olympics, which finally took place in the Japanese capital last summer, at which great pains were taken to observe social distancing measures and even safe sex was officially discouraged by the International Olympic Committee.

But Ms Venning said it was too far off to say definitively whether an equivalent stance would be adopted for the Commonwealth Games.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation closely in regard to Covid-19, working with health experts and national authorities, to ensure we all have robust measures in place so that together we can deliver a safe Games,” she said.

“The Birmingham 2022 guidance on Covid will be confirmed much closer to the start of the Games in July, as it needs to be based on what the national and international situation is at the time.”

Asked about how the condom haul would be paid for, Ms Venning answered: “We are currently in discussions with a potential sponsor about the provision of contraception.”

A council spokesman subsequently moved to reassure citizens that the cost would not be met out of the funding for day-to-day sexual health services in the city.

“The provision of contraception for athletes and officials is an entirely standard, safe and responsible practice – and replicates what has been done by major multi-sport events on many occasions in the past,” they said.

“This is led by Birmingham 2022 working with the UK Health Security Agency and public health teams across the footprint of the Games, and is separate to the regular council-funded sexual health services.”