A BCU alumnus fully embraced the Commonwealth Games in his hometown of Birmingham after being involved with the Games themselves and then proceeding to report from the event to huge audiences.
James Bovill graduated from BCU with a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism in 2008. The alumnus took on the role of being Lead Communications Manager at Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee until July 2021, before returning to his love of journalism and a role at BBC Midlands Today, where he was then able to report on the event.
We caught up with James to find out more about his involvement in the Games.
Tell us about your role within the Games?
As Lead Communications Manager at Birmingham 2022, I had responsibility for the planning and delivery of communications campaigns for major milestones in the build up to the Games. My role included the launch of the now-famous mascot, Perry the Bull, the call out for 13,000 volunteers to help during the Games, and the launch of the West Midlands ticket ballot, which gave priority tickets to people living in the region.
The role was varied, multi-faceted and extremely complex. I was responsible for securing local, regional, national, and international media coverage for these campaigns, working with high profile spokespeople like Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson to maximise the impact.
The role also included delivering content for the Games’ own social media channels and website, working with the digital team to produce videos and copy to support these big announcements.
The comms and marketing team was a huge group effort. Our aim every day was to sell the Games as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the region, an event that represents the diversity of the West Midlands, positioning Birmingham 2022 brand as bold, colourful, exciting and something to be a part of.
The role also involved working with a huge range of stakeholders working to make the Games happen, including Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Combined Authority, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Team England, and many others.
What was it like working at the Commonwealth Games?
It was extremely intense and challenging, but hugely rewarding at the same time. The organising committee is basically the biggest start-up business you can imagine, building a team of hundreds of people and a multi-million-pound budget from scratch to deliver a huge event in a limited timescale; the biggest ever held in the West Midlands.
During my time there, much of this was done during various forms of lockdown as well, which added constant additional challenges to what we were trying to achieve, with goalposts moving constantly.
There were plenty of people working with us who had worked on big international events before, like the London 2012 Olympics and previous Commonwealth Games, as well as many like myself who’d never worked on something so big before. There was an element of learning as we went along, trying to do things a bit differently, and creating something new and exciting. But all of this inevitably made it a hugely pressurised environment.
It was relentlessly busy. I’d often be juggling several huge projects at the same time, and once one launch had taken place, it would be on to the next. It was hugely exciting to see projects I’d worked so hard on come to life and gain traction.
One of my proudest achievements was launching the mascot, Perry. There was a lot of pressure because the mascot is such a massive symbol of any Games, and they often divide opinion. We sifted through hundreds of entries from children all over the country, and we knew we had a brilliant one when we saw 11-year-old Emma Lou’s multi-coloured bull. When we launched what became Perry, we knew he would go down well, but we were blown away by the reaction.
We even decided to do something no mascot had ever done before, and turned him into an Augmented Reality character, capable of posing for selfies via a mobile phone. Through a good friend, I was introduced to Taran Singh, a Birmingham based 3D designer, who’s been supported by BCU’s STEAMhouse project. He absolutely nailed his brief and brought Perry to life in a way I didn’t think was possible.
Perry has become a true symbol of Birmingham and these Games and I’m so happy to have played a role in that.
What were your favourite things about being involved with the Games?
It did often feel like being part of something that was once-in-a-lifetime. As a huge sport fan, and particularly athletics, it was brilliant to meet and work with legends of the sport like Denise Lewis, Colin Jackson and Mark Lewis-Francis, who were all absolutely lovely and total professionals. I also got to meet and forge good relationships with many of the Team England hopefuls who ended up becoming stars of the Games, like para sprinter Hannah Cockroft, volleyball players the Bello brothers, and local squash star Sarah-Jane Perry.
I produced a podcast from scratch called 22 Voices and got to virtually meet heptathlon world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, which was another highlight.
I ultimately decided to leave the Games’ organising committee in July 2021 to go back to my first love of journalism and a role at BBC Midlands Today, so I’m lucky that I’ve got to cover the Games from that perspective, too. I have reported on several stories around the Games’ commitment to supporting LGBT+ people and I’m really proud to have shone a light on Pride House, a safe, inclusive space for LGBT+ athletes during the Games.
During the Games themselves, the BBC newsroom was absolutely buzzing, and I got to work on several outside broadcasts as we took the programme out across the West Midlands to capture the excitement of the Games. It was so incredible to see the region really come together to embrace the Games; I’ve never seen Birmingham city centre looking so busy, beautiful, or buzzing. I felt such a huge swell of pride throughout.
Working for the Organising Committee as well as the BBC during Games time has been one of the privileges of my career, and I will remember the experiences I had and the memories I’ve made over the last few years for the rest of my life.
What legacy do you hope the Games will have on Birmingham and the region?
In a tangible sense, we have a world class athletics venue at Alexander Stadium, and Sandwell Aquatics Centre on our doorstep now, and that can only help to inspire young people living here to get involved in sport. Thousands of young people from diverse backgrounds were also given the chance to take part in training programmes connected to the Games, so hopefully there will be a whole new generation of young people growing up who feel empowered to achieve their dreams.
In a less tangible sense, I think these Games has given people in Birmingham and the West Midlands huge pride in their area, and confidence to start talking up our region as a world class place to live, visit and do business. Those of us who’ve lived here all our lives knew this place was special, but we were often beaten down by old fashioned stereotypes. We always describe ourselves as self-deprecating, but I think that’s changing now. I was lucky enough to be in the stadium for the Opening Ceremony, and I was totally blown away by the creativity, ambition, scale, and execution. Birmingham had arrived. I genuinely think that now, the sky is the limit for us.
What are you up to now?
I’ve been back at the BBC for a year now, having previously worked there for 9 years, so I’m concentrating on growing my experience in TV journalism both as a reporter and a producer, and telling stories of underrepresented groups, particularly the LGBT+ community. I love the West Midlands and it’s a privilege to tell those stories to my home region.