Commonwealth Games get undeway today

The 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games opens in Birmingham on Thursday, bringing together around 5,000 athletes from 72 nations and territories -- mostly former British colonies -- to compete in 19 sports over 11 days.

Some track and field stars will be absent when the competition gets under way -- just days after the end of the world championships in Eugene, Oregon.

But there will still be plenty of big names on show at the event, which features sports as diverse as lawn bowls and marathon running.

The Commonwealth Games are not on the scale of the Olympics that Birmingham once aspired to host -- the city was beaten by Barcelona for the right to put on the 1992 Games -- but officials hope they can provide a big economic boost for the area.

According to the Financial Times, the West Midlands Combined Authority estimates the event will be worth £1 billion ($1.2 billion) to the regional economy.