The announcement was made yesterday that Australia had won the bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2018. The Games will be held on the Gold Coast, in Queensland, which is just over the NSW border, from April 4 to April 15, 2018.
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years.
Australia has hosted the Games 4 times before – 1938 in Sydney, 1962 in Perth, 1982 in Brisbane, and 2006 in Melbourne. Other countries that have hosted the Games are Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, England, India, Malaysia, Jamaca and Wales
The Gold Coast is Australia’s premier holiday destination featuring splendid beaches, surf and sand. What once was a sleep coastal town has been developed over rent years with many high rise accommodation apartments and hotels, restaurants, and night clubs. Australia’s major theme park – Sea World, Movie World, Wet’N’Wild, and Dream World are all located on the Gold Coast.
The Gold Coast was chosen ahead of the Sri Lankan city of Hambantota by 43 votes to 27. The bid was built around the tagline 'It's our time to shine' and the hope of being 'the greenest games ever held'. The Gold Coast leveraged their argument for hosting the games on its extensive experience in hosting large scale sporting events and its existing high quality and well located facilities.
The Commonwealth Games is predicted to deliver $2 billion in economic benefits to the Gold Coast and about 30,000 jobs in the next seven years. Many more tourists will visit the Gold Coast before, during and after the Games.
On the Gold Coast the announcement was broadcast live on a big screen at a community event at Broadwater Parklands in Southport. The crowd of thousands fell silent as the moment finally came to hear the long-awaited decision. When the announcement was made the crowd erupted into deafening cheers, danced, hugged, and waved flags. Confetti canons fired over the sea of people, and balloons were released into the sky.
The Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh says the win is a tribute to the hard work of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Bid team. "It was very clear early in the week that there were a lot of delegates wanting to support Hambantota and it's been a very very close vote," Ms Bligh said "So we've had 15 meetings, we've lobbied everybody, and the hard work has paid off. "I'm so proud of this team, I'm so proud of the Gold Coast, I'm so proud of being a Queenslander tonight."
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