The fund will aim to increase access to sport and culture, boost the West Midlands’s reputation as a world-class host for major events and drive inward investment and tourism.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will work with the West Midlands Combined Authority and Birmingham City Council to capitalise on the success of the Games and help more people engage with sport and culture in the region.

The funding will also be allocated to boost inward business investment and tourism and help drive further economic growth in the West Midlands.

The Commonwealth Games was backed by £778m of public funding, providing the West Midlands with a refurbished athletics stadium in Perry Barr and a-new aquatics centre in Smethwick.

This £60m investment builds on existing legacy programmes already being rolled out. In partnership with DCMS, Sport England will continue to boost access to sport through a Birmingham 2022 kit giveaway. 16,000 items from basketballs to bibs will be gifted to West Midlands community groups in the coming months.

“I am pleased the unspent money allocated to deliver the biggest and best event staged in Birmingham’s history will be retained in the city and wider region to strengthen the Games’ legacy. It is only fair that our robust financial management is recognised in this way,” said Cllr Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council.

“Earlier this year, we set out a clear plan for how we will ensure the Proud Host City can maximise the benefits of staging the Games through the use of any underspend. As quarter-funders of the Games’ core budget, it is only right we get our fair share to translate those ambitions into reality.

“The funding will help us stage an annual international festival, bid for other major events that will further boost our economy, develop plans for a new museum of science and industry, launch a long-term study tracking the impact of the Games on local people and offer support to grassroots sporting and cultural organisations.”

Birmingham 2022 was the fairest, greenest and fastest Commonwealth Games ever, delivered in four and a half years, rather than the seven that normally happens for a Games, and committed to a carbon neutral legacy. As well as having the biggest ever para-sport programme, the Games also awarded women with more medals than men. Birmingham 2022’s 11 days of sport was complemented by a 6-month cultural festival and the first ever Games-accredited business and tourism programme.