Situated in the south-east of Queensland’s state capital Brisbane, Gold Coast city is all set to host one of the biggest sporting spectacles in the world, the Commonwealth Games. It is the sixth largest city in Australia and the largest among the non-capital cities. Located on the shores of the Great Barrier Reef, Gold Coast boasts of its picturesque beaches and an adorable skyline. It is a prime tourist attraction for its beaches and the sub-tropical climate favors the travelers. Surfing is quite popular in the region with other forms of entertainment besides.
With the country’s main film industry located in the city itself, it is sometimes referred to as “Australia’s Hollywood”. Gold Coast city piped Hambantota (Sri Lanka) by a fair margin in the bid to host the 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games with a majority of 43 votes. The decision was finalised at Basseterre, Saint Kitts on November 11, 2011. Apart from Gold Coast, a few of the events will be held in cities like Brisbane, Cairns and Townsville.
Venues
The Carrara Stadium is the largest venue to be used for the upcoming Commonwealth Games with a capacity of 40000 and is set to stage the opening and the closing ceremony. The Robina Stadium will be hosting the Rugby competition while the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre will be staging the swimming and diving categories. Badminton, Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Wrestling will be hale at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre. Oxenford studios will host Boxing and Table Tennis respectively while Shooters will compete against each other in Belmont.
Games Village
The Commonwealth Games village is located in Parkland and has ample transport connections to other venues of the mega event. The village has prepared to provide accommodation for 6600 athletes and officials. A total of 1170 single and double bedded rooms and 82 three bedded rooms have been arranged at the venue. It is located at a place called ‘Southport’ in Gold Coast. On 25th March 2018, the village will be officially opened for the arrival of the athletes.
A total of 70 nations is likely to travel to the beautiful city for an action packed 11 days of sporting carnival. A total of 275 Gold medals will be up for grabs across 18 disciplines. Among the changes from the previous edition of the meet is the exclusion of ‘judo’, the debut of Women’s Rugby Sevens, Beach Volleyball and the re-introduction of Basketball.
