That one of the most egalitarian sports contests in the world is coming to Alabama is not lost on a state that has worked toward that doctrine for generations.

Thursday begins the World Games 2022 in Birmingham, an international multi-sport event held every four years, in the year following the Summer Olympic Games.

Why egalitarian? Built on the magnitude of the Olympics, 3,600 of the world’s top athletes from more than 100 countries will compete over 11 days in 30-plus multi-disciplinary sports. That Birmingham, and other cities of such stature, are in the running for such a prestigious event is largely because host cities are not required to build new venues or facilities — a deal breaker for many countries, let alone a single city.

More, the games themselves consist of sports and sporting disciplines not contested in the Olympic Games, opening contests to talents and teams not so widely represented, and certainly not on a world stage of this order.

Birmingham is the first American city to host the games since the event’s initial edition, held in Santa Clara, Calif., in 1981. The first medals were awarded in the 640 kilo class of tug-of-war. Forty years later, the games are even more inclusive, with wheelchair rugby presented as an invitational sport and disabled athletes competing in archery within their regular target compound competition. New disciplines, such as drone racing, will take their place next to a mixed competition in the tug of war.

In 2022, Birmingham and Alabama have earned this place. The economic drivers — projected at $256 million — are important, but equally so is the chance for our state to shine before the world. That opportunity begins now.