hello, good afternoon. the final preparations are being put in place for the opening ceremony of the commonwealth games in birmingham tonight. more than 6,500 athletes and officials are involved. let s go straight to my colleague, reeta chakrabarti. she is in birmingham. the commonwealth games 2022 opens in birmingham later today. you can hear the rehearsals going on behind me. 0rganisers say it s the biggest in the event s history. prince charles will represent the queen tonight and performances will include local music and dance groups, emphasising birmingham s diversity. more than 5,000 athletes from 72 nations and territories will take part over the next 11 days. athletes will compete in 19 sports and 280 medal events,
emphasising birmingham s diversity. more than 5,000 athletes from 72 nations and territories will take part over the next 11 days. athletes will compete in 19 sports and 280 medal events. and for the first time, there will be more medals for women than for men, and the para events will be included as part of the main games. phil mackie reports. cheering and applause. the queen s baton is on its final leg. first stop, birmingham s jewellery quarter, where the medals that they will be competing for tomorrow have been made. and this is where it will finish tonight, at the alexander stadium, where they are making final preparations for the opening ceremony. they have released these pictures from the dress rehearsals. the show s director is peaky blinders creator stephen knight, so it will celebrate both the west midlands and the commonwealth. one of the stars is dance school owner laurel. i m from birmingham, so for my family and for myself,
the. legal history is made as broadcasters airjudges sentencing remarks from crown courts in england and wales for the first time. and stars are paying tribute to actor bernard cribbins famous for his many roles, including in doctor who, the wombles and the original railway children who has died at the age of 93. just great, funny, giggly company to be with, but he took his work very seriously, and he was a fine actor on all levels, and i think he will be so, well, obviously he is so badly missed. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at 2pm. the commonwealth games 2022 opens in birmingham later today. organisers say it s the biggest in the event s history. prince charles will represent the queen tonight and performances will include local music and dance groups,
and insists his move was not motivated by money. pga tour is something. i mean, it was a goal of mine to play on the pga tour, but i am a. and its been an incrediblejourney, but i m also an incrediblejourney, but i m also a guy who is one multiple source, i think five, australasian, asian, korean, european tour and pga tour, and i would love to add a liv victory to that as well. that s all the sport for now. plenty more from birmingham through the afternoon. thanks. see you later. kyiv says moscow is moving troops to the south of the country, where a counter offensive by ukrainian forces is underway, in an attempt to retake the city of kherson. kherson was the first city to fall to russia in the war. now uk defence officials say it is virtually cut off from other territories held by the russians. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, paul adams, has more from kyiv. a ferocious ukrainian barrage
the commonwealth games is the first major multisport event held in the uk since the covid pandemic, reason enough to be excited. can t remember the last time that birmingham hosted something as big as the commonwealth games. i think it was a good use of money, it s definitely bringing a lot more attention to birmingham, and it is a really good city, so i think it s good that it s getting the attention it deserves. makes me proud to be a brummie. birmingham is one of the youngest cities in europe and it s also one of the most diverse, with large asian, african and caribbean communities. and for some, the occasion hasn t lived up to its motto of games for everyone. for example, the organising board was accused of lacking diversity. changes have been made since. newsreel: we, all loyal subjects of his majesty, | will take part in the games- in the true spirit of sportsmanship. then there are those who say its colonial origins are still being felt today. at a sensitive time, when the windr