Story highlights
  • Durban was originally awarded the Games
  • South African city later lost right to host event
  • Birmingham beat Liverpool to be British candidate city
    • The £750 million ($1 billion) showpiece will be the most expensive sporting event held in Britain since the 2012 London Olympics -- which cost a reported £8 billion ($11 billion).
    Birmingham, which is about 126 miles from London, was the only city to submit a bid before the original deadline on September 30, though it was deemed "not fully compliant" by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
    Rival cities were then given an extended deadline until November 30 to submit a bid.
    In September, the Midlands city beat Liverpool for the right to be the British candidate for the 2022 Games.
    The bidding process, however, has not been without its problems. The Games were originally awarded to Durban in 2015, but the South African city was stripped earlier this year for failure to comply with CGF criteria.