2018 Commonwealth Games


The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018. It was the fifth time Australia had hosted the Commonwealth Games and the first time a major multi-sport had an equal number of events for male and female athletes.
4,426 athletes including 300 para-athletes from 71 Commonwealth Games Associations took part in the event. The Gambia, which withdrew its membership from the Commonwealth of Nations and Commonwealth Games Federation in 2013, was readmitted on 31 March 2018 and participated in the event. With 275 sets of medals, the games featured 18 Commonwealth sports, including beach volleyball, para triathlon and women's rugby sevens. These sporting events took place at 14 venues in the host city, two venues in Brisbane and one venue each in Cairns and Townsville.
This was the first Commonwealth Games to take place under the CGF presidency of Dame Louise Martin. The host city Gold Coast was announced at the CGF General Assembly in Basseterre, Saint Kitts, on 11 November 2011. Gold Coast became the seventh Oceanian city and the first regional city to host the Commonwealth Games. These were the eighth Games to be held in Oceania and the Southern Hemisphere.
The host nation Australia topped the medal table for the fourth time in the past five Commonwealth Games, winning the most golds and most medals overall. England and India finished second and third respectively. Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, British Virgin Islands and Dominica each won their first Commonwealth Games medals.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games boosted the Queensland economy by more than A$2.4 billion between 2013 and 2022, while the venues constructed and upgraded for the Games generated over $60 million in economic benefit annually to the Gold Coast, with the success of the 2018 Commonwealth Games credited with helping Brisbane to secure hosting rights for the 2032 Summer Olympics.

Host selection

On 22 August 2008, the Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, officially launched Gold Coast City's bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2018. On 7 April 2009, the ABC reported a land exchange deal between Gold Coast City and State of Queensland for Carrara Stadium. According to Mayor Ron Clarke, the land would aid a potential bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The land exchanged would be used as the site of an aquatics centre. In the same article, Mayor Clarke raised the question of the Australian Federal Government's commitment to a Commonwealth Games bid in light of the Government's support for Australia's 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals bid. On 16 April 2009, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told reporters that a successful Commonwealth Games bid by Gold Coast City could help the tourist strip win a role in hosting the World Cup.
Clarke said "some of the infrastructure that would be built for the Commonwealth Games will be useful for Gold Coast City to get a World Cup game out of the soccer World Cup if we're successful as a nation." However, the decision on the venues for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups were made eleven months prior to the bid decision for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, so the potential World Cup venues had already been chosen. On 3 June 2009, Gold Coast City was confirmed as Australia's exclusive bidder vying for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. "Should a bid proceed, Gold Coast City will have the exclusive Australian rights to bid as host city for 2018," Bligh stated. "Recently I met with the president and CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association and we agreed to commission a full and comprehensive feasibility study into the potential for the 2018 Commonwealth Games," she said. "Under the stewardship of Queensland Events new chair, Geoff Dixon, that study is now well advanced." On 15 March 2010, it was announced that the Queensland Government will provide initial funding of A$11 million for the 2018 Commonwealth Games bid.
The Premier of Queensland has indicated the Government's support for the bid to the Australian Commonwealth Games Association. On 31 March 2010, the Australian Commonwealth Games Association officially launched the bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In October 2011, Gold Coast City Mayor Ron Clarke stated that the games would provide a strong legacy for the city after the games have ended.
On 31 March 2010, a surprise bid was made for the 2018 Commonwealth Games by Hambantota in Sri Lanka. Hambantota was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and was undergoing a major face lift. The first phase of the Hambantota International Port was nearing completion at the time, and a new cricket stadium had also been built, which had hosted matches in the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
On 10 November 2011, the Hambantota bidders claimed they had already secured enough votes to win the hosting rights. However, on 11 November it was officially announced Gold Coast City had won the rights to host the games.
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Gold Coast City

Development and preparation

The event was overseen by the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation. The GOLDOC was formed in 2012 by the Government of Queensland. Its headquarters were located in Ashmore, a suburban region of Gold Coast. In February 2012, Mark Peters was appointed chief executive officer of the GOLDOC. The Queensland Government Minister Kate Jones was tasked with overseeing the Games. Peter Beattie AC served as the chairman of GOLDOC who was appointed on 17 May 2016 to replace Nigel Chamier OAM.

Venues

The Games was hosted across 18 venues located in the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns. Sporting venues were well ahead available of Gold Coast 2018 ensuring that they were used and tested before the Games. The Australian and Queensland Governments and the City of Gold Coast invested A$320 million to deliver new and upgraded venues. Lendlease was the overlay delivery partner and official supporter property and infrastructure of the Games.

Venues on the Gold Coast

, located in the suburb of Carrara, was the main venue for athletics, the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. The seating capacity of the stadium was temporarily increased to 40,000 for the Games by the installation of a large temporary stand in the north end. The new Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre hosted the Badminton, Para Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Wrestling events. The Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium hosted the back-of-house event operations.
The Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, located in the suburb of Broadbeach, hosted the basketball finals and netball preliminaries and also served as the Main Media Centre and International Broadcast centre hosting over 3,000 members of the worlds press. The Broadbeach Bowls Club hosted the Bowls competition.
The Nerang National Park was the location for the mountain bike competition. A new course was constructed to meet international competition requirements and temporary spectator seating for 2,000 spectators.
The newly built Coomera Indoor Sports Centre hosted gymnastics and netball finals. The Oxenford Studios hosted the sports of boxing, table tennis and squash. During Games mode, the venue was enhanced to provide for each sporting federation's technical venue requirements and provide spectator seating. The Gold Coast Hockey Centre hosted the men's and women's field hockey events. The Southport Broadwater Parklands hosted Triathlon, Marathon and Racewalking events. The Optus aquatic centre hosted the Swimming and Diving events.
Robina Stadium hosted the rugby sevens competition, and was upgraded to meet World Rugby standards. The Currumbin Beachfront hosted the road racing elements of the cycling programme. Coolangatta Beachfront hosted the Beach volleyball event.

Venues outside Gold Coast

, along with the Gold Coast, forms part of the South East Queensland conurbation. Track cycling was held at the Sleeman Sports Complex in the suburb of Chandler, where a new velodrome was built.
The shooting disciplines were held at the Belmont Shooting Centre. In Tropical North Queensland, the Cairns Convention Centre and Townsville Entertainment Centre hosted the preliminary rounds of basketball.

Athletes village

The Athletes Village was officially opened from 25 March 2018 and provided accommodation and services to 6,600 athletes and officials in 1252 permanent dwellings. It was located in Southport, Gold Coast. There were 1,170 one and two-bedroom apartments and 82 three-bedroom townhouses. The village had three zones - International, Residential and Operational.
The residential zone accommodated athletes and officials and also offered recreation, gym and medical facilities. The equipment in the gym was provided by Technogym. Adjoining the gym was the Athlete Recovery Area. The International Zone consisted of retail services, shops and the main dining hall. The Festival 2018 events were also held in the International Zone. The Dining hall served over 18,000 meals per day to the athletes during the Games. Australian telecommunications company Optus opened a store in the International zone named "Yes Optus Store" which provided free calling services to the athletes and officials and other services such as phone charging and watching events of the Games in televisions. Optus also provided free Wi-Fi services in the village.

Financing

The sports-related costs of Gold Coast 2018 was A$1.5 billion.

Countdown

The countdown clocks were unveiled on 4 April 2013, exactly five years from the opening ceremony of the Games. The clocks were shaped as a surfboard and were located at the beach end of Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise and in South Bank Parklands in Brisbane. The Countdown Clock was the first fixed element of the Commonwealth Games visual identity program.