International Children's Games 2022

Nov 11, 2022

Background

The International Children’s Games (ICG) is an annual event that hosts children from across the world in a variety of sports and cultural activities. The Games have been taking place annually since 1968 and have a rich history of propelling young athletes onto the sporting world stage.

The city of Coventry host of the 2022 ICG games, previously hosted the games in 2005. Having recently been designated as the “City of Culture” by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport; the 2022 hosts aimed to make this year’s games the most sustainable yet.

Over 1500 athletes participated in sports such as Athletics, Basketball and climbing and were held across Coventry in venues such as Alan Higgs Centre, University of Warwick & Coventry University.

Our Transport Solution

National Express Transport Solutions provided athletes and visitors with daily shuttle services to and from various venues across Coventry as the official transport partner of the International Children's Games. Over the course of the games, the shuttle service was run using electric double-decker buses and executive coaches.

On arrival and departure days shuttle services were organised in correspondence with national and regional teams' flight and train times. For swimming and basketball competitions, daily shuttles were run from Coventry University accommodations to the Alan Higgs Centre and Broadgate respectively. The swimming and basketball competitions saw over 500 passengers aboard the shuttle services during the day.

Councillor Abdul Salam Khan, Deputy Leader, Coventry City Council and Chair of the International Children's Games Stakeholder Board:

"The 2022 International Children's Games was absolutely phenomenal. It's an event we are immensely proud to have hosted in Coventry and one that supported so many great principles. 

"It was the first in the history of the Games to feature inclusive sport while supporting local young people, showcasing great venues around the city and of course focusing on sustainability in the city. 

"The transportation during the Games made a huge contribution to our aim of being a green Games. More than 13,000 miles were travelled via coach, car and electric buses during the event, collecting athletes from the airport and transferring them from venue to venue. 

"It was a pleasure to work with National Express Transport Solutions and the team made a huge contribution to the reduction in carbon footprint as we transported 12,500 people during the Games."

Sarah Gager, Regional Managing Director for the Midlands: 

“National Express Transport Solutions are proud to partner with the International Children’s Games 2022 - a competition with a rich history that propels youth athletes into future sporting success.

“As the need to encourage a modal shift from cars to more sustainable modes of transport increases across the UK - we’re delighted to be able to play a role in delivering a sustainable and successful International Children’s Games across the city of Coventry.

“This year’s games are the 54th in ICG history and we look forward to welcoming onboard our electric buses, spectators and athletes from across 31 countries.”

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