subject: Making Strides To Become The Host Of The Commonwealth Games [print this page] The Gold Coast is merely one of the regions fighting to get to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games but making the environment a top priority while building the ideal venue for the selection committee is truly quite a challenge. As the Gold Coast begins to bid on the games, CEO Mark Peters says that one of the primary goals of his region will be to minimize the carbon footprint of the games on the environment of the Gold Coast.
Planting thousands of trees is only one of the things that the committee is thinking about, as this is how Melbourne tried to compensate for the damage to the environment caused by hosting the Commonwealth Games, however the Gold Coast will also be looking at the possibility of running their stadiums with solar power as well in and attempt to keep things more carbon neutral.
Their attempts to keep things green will also help to counteract some of the new construction that will have to be completed to prepare for this sized event. Several park and rides are also being strategically planned away from events to encourage those attending to use public transportation to get into the strategic locations of the games.
Of course there are economic factors that will drastically benefit this region as well and these will not be overlooked as the committee and council look at the larger picture. The committee will be putting together a bid book to turn over to the delegates later in the month which will outline all the proposed changes and additions that will need to be made if the Gold Coast will be hosting the Games. Sri Lanka announced late last year that they would invest as much as 5 billion dollars in revamping the city of Hambantota if they get to host the games and the proposed changes to be made in the Gold Coast will perhaps cost the region about $1 billion to build the newly proposed venues in addition to to revamp some existing structures.
The Gold Coast is excited about the prospect of getting to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games as this event holds the promise of a boost in tourism dollars in addition to some much needed exposure of the whole Queensland region. Third only to Melbourne and Sydney, the Queensland is hoping to move ahead of the pack with all of its recent attention and its increased press and additional tourism marketing campaign.
