Awarded by Spirit of 2012, the mass participation project called Critical Mass, will form a new dance company of which at least one third of the 300 participants will be disabled people.

Around 40 per cent are expected to come from Asian, black or other minority ethnic backgrounds, reflecting the diversity of Birmingham and the West Midlands' young population.

Participants will have the opportunity to take part in approximately 400 dance and movement workshops across a 14-month period.

Critical Mass is set to perform at the Birmingham 2022 Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as the opening show of the Birmingham 2022 Cultural Festival in March 2022, the Birmingham International Dance Festival in June 2022 and the Welcome Ceremonies for athletes arriving for the Games in July 2022.

This project will engage people in colleges, community arts groups, youth clubs, job centres and refugee and asylum seeker advice centres to ensure those from underrepresented backgrounds are given an opportunity to participate.

"This investment will put the region's young people at the heart of the Birmingham 2022 Cultural Festival and cement the West Midlands' already stellar reputation for world class dance performance," said Birmingham 2022 chief of creative Martin Green.

"This project is about bringing diverse communities together and making dance as inclusive as possible by reaching people who may not have considered dance before.

"The six major performances at the peak of this process during 2022 will create a series of awe-inspiring moments to remember, showing off the amazing diversity of the West Midlands when the eyes of the world will be on us."

The latest funding boost comes after £6 million ($8.34 million/€6.99 million) was awarded to Birmingham 2022 by Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund in January.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to take place from July 28 to August 8 next year.