Team England has appointed Mark England OBE as Chef de Mission to lead the team to the next Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.
Mark is Team GB’s Chef de Mission for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and brings a wealth of experience to the role, having led the British team through the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where they finished second to Team USA in the medal table, collecting gold medals across a greater range of sports than any other nation.
Mark was appointed Chef de Mission of Team GB in 2014 and his first major event leading the team was the inaugural European Games in Baku in 2015. He was previously Deputy Chef de Mission at six Olympic Games, including London 2012, and Chef de Mission at several Olympic Youth Festivals.
In 2016, Mark was awarded an OBE for his services to Olympic sport following the success he and the team enjoyed in Rio, where Team GB’s 366 athletes made history by becoming the first ever to win more medals at the Games immediately after playing host.
Team England will be the host team for the Games in 2022, which take place on the 10th anniversary of London 2012, a Games in which Mark was heavily involved. Using his experience, Mark will be responsible for ensuring everything runs smoothly for Team England athletes before and during the Birmingham 2022 Games, creating the best environment to perform on home soil in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
At the last Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018, Team England sent 390 athletes to Australia in what was England’s largest ever team to represent the nation in an overseas sporting event. The team competed in 18 sports, including 38 para medal events and placed second on the medal table behind the hosts, Australia, with a total of 136 medals, including 45 golds.
Birmingham 2022 will be the first opportunity for Team England athletes to compete at a Commonwealth Games in front of a home crowd since Manchester 2002.
Mark England OBE said:
“It is always special to lead a nation into competition, but to be able to do so at a home Games is an absolute privilege. My thanks to both the British Olympic Association and Commonwealth Games England for the opportunity.
“The athletes and team will get a wonderful reception in Birmingham and across the Midlands, and I hope we can make England proud through their performances in 2022. In the meantime there is a lot of hard work to do and I’m looking forward to working with the team to deliver the optimal performance support to the athletes.”
Commonwealth Games England CEO, Paul Blanchard, believes Mark has the experience to help deliver further success for Team England. He said:
“We’re so pleased to announce the appointment of Mark England as Chef de Mission for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Mark has a wealth of experience in multi-sport planning and delivery and his record is exemplary. He will bring an exceptional level of insight, understanding and quality to Team England and we believe that we have made the strongest possible appointment for the role.
“I’m excited and very much look forward to working with him. I’d like to thank the British Olympic Association for their full support in this appointment, which shows the positive, collaborative and joined up approach to the high performance sport system in this country.”
Accountable to CEO, Paul Blanchard, Mark will work alongside the existing Commonwealth Games England team and additional Games delivery staff to provide leadership and direction to Team England before, during and after the 2022 Games. The Chef de Mission has overall accountability for all team members during the Games.