More than five million visit the city centre during the Games

Birmingham city centre has never been so busy. More than five million people visited during the Commonwealth Games, according to new figures, as residents and visitors from around the world packed the city's streets, squares, shops, bars and restaurants.

Figures from the city centre's Business Improvement District show that 4.62 million people visited the city centre during the Games themselves, from 28 July to 8 August, and more than five million in the two weeks from 25 July.

Busier than Christmas

The busiest day was Saturday 6 August, with 455,556 visitors. The Games week beat the busiest week of last Christmas, when 2,373,223 people visited, by almost half a million.

"Busy and buzzing"

Council leader Ian Ward said the figures showed that people and businesses in Birmingham had benefited from the Games.

"These figures just underline what a fantastic couple of weeks this has been for the city, with record numbers of people visiting from across the country and around the world," he said.

"Everywhere you went during the Games, the streets, shops, bars and restaurants were busy and buzzing, and in addition to Brummies coming into town to join in the fun, it's been great to see people from around the world enjoying the city - as bars, restaurants and hotels have filled up, and I have no doubt that many of these visitors will be back, because they now know what a fantastic, welcoming city Birmingham is."

A boost for hospitality

Matt Lockren, general manager of Purecraft Bar and Kitchen, said the Games had been "a massive success" for the city and the business. Its main bar and a second bar at the festival site in Victoria Square welcomed thousands of guests from across the globe.

"After a challenging two years for hospitality, the Games showed the benefits that large event tourism can bring to the city," he said. "We hope this marks the beginning of a new, bold approach to market Birmingham as one of the UK's great tourist destinations."

Nicola Fleet-Milne, chair of Colmore Business District, said: "The Commonwealth Games has shown the world what we've known for many years - Birmingham is a fantastic city, full of vibrancy, diversity and ambition."

Festival city

During the Games, the city centre was transformed with live sites and festival zones, including Victoria Square, Centenary Square and Smithfield, where visitors could watch the action on big screens, listen to live music and try food from around the Commonwealth. A giant mechanical bull from the opening ceremony drew crowds at Centenary Square.

The Games ended on 8 August with a closing ceremony at the Alexander Stadium, after 11 days of competition in which athletes from across the Commonwealth competed at venues in the city and beyond.

What next

The council and business leaders are now looking at how to build on the Games and turn a fortnight of visitors into lasting benefits for the city's economy. The council has set out an ambition for a "golden decade" of major events in Birmingham, and hopes the images of packed streets and sunny squares seen around the world will persuade more people to visit in years to come.