2018 GOLD COAST CITY CANDIDATE CITY FILE VOLUME 1 Gold Coast City. Photographer: Mark Burgin © Gold Coast Tourism Corporation GOLD COAST CITY 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES – CANDIDATE CITY FILE PRIME MINISTER CANBERRA MESSAGE FROM PRIME MINISTER JULIA GILLARD GOLD COAST CITY’S BID FOR THE 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES On behalf of the Government and people of Australia, I am honoured to submit our nation’s Gold Coast City Candidature File for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Australia has a long and proud association with the Commonwealth Games, having competed in every Games since they began in 1930 and hosted the Games four times. Our host city, Gold Coast City, is an iconic Australian cultural and tourism destination which attracts more than 10 million international and domestic visitors each year. Gold Coast City, in the state of Queensland, will deliver an exciting, safe and friendly event built on a solid base of economic, cultural and social commitment. The athletes will not only enjoy the magnificent natural beauty of Gold Coast City but superb facilities and venues. They will also be supported by thousands of volunteers and technical officials with a proven record in delivering world-class events. Most importantly, all levels of Government will work together in the knowledge that they represent a nation that embraces sport as an important part of our identity. The Commonwealth Games epitomise all that we treasure as a nation – multiculturalism, sportsmanship, community and a passion for excellence. The Australian people stand firmly behind our bid and look forward to welcoming the athletes of the Commonwealth to our shores. The Honourable Julia Gillard MP Prime Minister of Australia GOLD COAST CITY 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES – CANDIDATE CITY FILE MESSAGE FROM QUEENSLAND PREMIER ANNA BLIGH GOLD COAST CITY’S BID FOR THE 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES It is with great excitement and anticipation that we submit the Gold Coast City Candidature File for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Our state has seen a transformation over the last 20 years. Queensland continues to be world renowned as a tourism destination but we are increasingly becoming known for our cultural development, our sporting prowess and particularly our ability to deliver international sporting events. The Queensland Government is wholly and enthusiastically supportive of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Bid. We have made a financial commitment to ensure the development of infrastructure that will offer athletes superb conditions and inspire and motivate them to perform at their very best. A 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast City will be a compact and efficient event with the majority of existing venues complemented by new structures, which will rise up less than 20 minutes drive from the proposed Athlete’s Village. A successful Gold Coast City Bid will ensure the Games continue to thrive in new markets, reach younger generations and uphold the Commonwealth Games Federation core values of ‘Humanity, Equality and Destiny’. I firmly believe that the Gold Coast City can provide the athletes, their friends and supporters and visitors from around the world with a whole of Games experience that they will remember fondly for the rest of their lives. We look forward to extending the warm hand of friendship, Queensland style. ANNA BLIGH MP PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND GOLD COAST CITY 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES – CANDIDATE CITY FILE GOLD COAST CITY 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES – CANDIDATE CITY FILE Chief Executive Officer: 11 May 2011 Mr Perry Crosswhite AM Postal Address: Po Box 49 Hon. Mike Fennell OJ, CD Carlton South Vic 3053 President Australia Commonwealth Games Federation nd Street Address: 2 Floor, 138 Piccadilly Commonwealth Games House 173 Drummond Street London W1J 7NR Carlton Vic 3053 United Kingdom Telephone: (61 3) 9654 4755 Facsimile: (61 3) 9654 7311 Dear Mike, Email: [email protected] The Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) is proud to submit to Website: the Commonwealth Games Federation our Bid to host the XXI Commonwealth www.commonwealthgames.com.au Games to be held in the year 2018. ABN: 55 165 736 898 The ACGA has endorsed the candidature from Gold Coast City after careful ___________________________ scrutiny of all aspects required to organise a successful Games. We are confident that an outstanding Games can be organised in Gold Coast City where sport, and the Patron in Chief: Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC needs of athletes will be the major focus. Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia Australia has a proud and successful record of hosting the Commonwealth Games Patron: although to this date the Games have been held in capital cities. As a regional city, Hon. Julia Gillard MP Prime Minister of Australia Gold Coast City will set a benchmark for similar regional cities around the Commonwealth which may consider hosting the Games in the future. President: Mr Sam Coffa AM JP Gold Coast City has extensive experience in the delivery of world-class events Vice Presidents: Mr Don Stockins OAM and will provide a whole of Games experience for athletes and officials, the Mr Mike Victor OAM Games Family and visitors from all over the world. Gold Coast City's Bid has the enthusiastic support of Australian sport, the Australian people, and all levels of Government in Australia. The commitment Australia has to the Games is well documented and widely recognised around the world. We seek the honour of hosting the 2018 Games in Gold Coast City and it will be our aim to host the best Games ever. Yours sincerely, Sam Coffa AM JP President GOLD COAST CITY 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES – CANDIDATE CITY FILE Artist’s Impression: Celebrations at Carrara Stadium GOLD COAST CITY IS EVENT READY On behalf of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA), the Australian Government, Queensland Government and the Gold Coast City Council (GCCC), we are proud to submit our Candidature File, including the required guarantees, to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) for consideration to host the XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia in 2018. We collectively invite all Commonwealth representative athletes, officials, their families, friends and spectators from around the world to gather and enjoy world-class competition in a remarkable city, capable and ready to deliver an exhilarating Games event. Our city As Australia’s sixth largest city, few places in the world are as well-placed to host large-scale international sporting events as Gold Coast City. Our extensive and experienced base of event professionals, officials and volunteers, and our passion for sport, will guarantee an expertly-organised, attended and technically-delivered Commonwealth Games in 2018. Success with this Candidature will continue Australia’s demonstrated commitment to an impeccable attendance record at the Commonwealth Games as one of only two countries to compete in every Games since their inception in 1930. Australians recognise and foster the significant benefits sport and sporting events bring to international peace and goodwill among the family of Commonwealth nations. Games organisers consider the opportunity to organise a professional and competent event as an honour and privilege. Athletes, officials and all who visit the City for the Games will enjoy a ‘blue sky-clean air’ sporting, entertainment and cultural experience like no other. Our strong multicultural population will provide a friendly welcome for the athletes and officials together with their families and friends, and help all visitors discover the City as a destination with something for everyone – the golden beaches, hinterland and famously casual lifestyle, internationally-renowned theme parks, sophisticated nightlife and impressive sporting facilities. The vibrant Gold Coast City represents the very best Australia has to offer. Defined and flanked by world-famous beaches to the east and pristine hinterland forests to the west, Gold Coast City basks in an average 287 days of sunshine a year – an enviable quality that helps attract 10.5 million international and domestic visitors per annum. These stunning attributes will all combine in 2018 to provide a life-changing experience for all those who attend the XXI Commonwealth Games. Safe and secure Australia has been a safe and secure democracy with the freedom of movement and speech since Federation in 1901. Today the nation and its people continue to develop sound economic, social and cultural policy based on humanity, equality and destiny. Our reputation and experience Australia is a nation that has sophisticated modern cities, magnificent diverse natural landscapes and an impressive track record in staging major international events. It is also a nation that celebrates achievement like no other. Together with Gold Coast City’s established and efficient security, transport, technology and accommodation systems, we have a solid reputation as a city that regularly, successfully and reliably delivers major national and international events, including: • The annual Gold Coast Airport Marathon, staged over 33 years, which attracts close to 24,000 participants and more than 1,300 volunteers and officials to six events over two days; • An annual motor race event, currently known as the Armor All Gold Coast 600, which is part of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, staged in Gold Coast City for the past 17 years, which attracts almost 900 competitors and more than 170,000 spectators to 15 races over three days; • The ANZ RACV Ladies Masters – Australia’s premier women’s professional golf tournament, which draws close to 120 professional golfers, 11,000 spectators and 300 volunteers and officials each year; • The biennial Pan Pacific Masters Games – Australia’s leading multi-sport event, which comprises 34 sports across nine days and attracts more than 11,000 participants and 700 volunteers; and • The 2009 Gold Coast ITU Triathlon World Championships, which featured 5,000 athletes from 42 countries participating in more than 20 categories during the five-day event, attracting 50,000 spectators and close to 500 volunteers and officials.