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The race to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games – is it Queensland’s time to shine?

By JOL Admin | 10 November 2011

It’s the exciting final countdown this week until the announcement on Saturday morning (Nov. 12) as to who will host the 2018 Commonwealth Games: Queensland’s Gold Coast or the Sri Lankan city of Hambantota.  Hosting the games would provide a great boon for Queensland’s economy and tourism, as well as propelling Queensland into the international sporting spotlight.  Will Queensland win the honour of hosting the XXI Commonwealth Games?

It’s not the first time Queensland has bid to host a major sporting event of international significance.  Brisbane was in the running for the Games of the XXV Olympiad – 1992 Summer Olympics - but unfortunately lost to Barcelona.  Then in the late 1980s Brisbane put forward a proposal to host the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, as did some other Australian capitals.  However, in the preliminary selection round, Melbourne was chosen for Australia’s bid, and in the end the 1996 Summer Olympics was awarded to Atlanta.

The John Oxley Library holds Brisbane shines : 1996 Olympic games bid  - a book published for the proposed but later unsuccessful submission to host the 1996 Olympics.  The book interestingly features the proposed 1996 Olympic logo “subject to AOF approval” – a green kangaroo shape in front of yellow dots which are formed into a circle.  ‘Brisbane 1996’ is at the base of the image.

Of course, Brisbane has had successful bids, and many Queenslanders would have attended or even participated in the XII Commonwealth ‘Friendly Games’ held in Brisbane in 1982.

John Oxley Library staff have begun collecting material related to the 2018 games bid, including the bid poster featuring the ‘colour of the sun’ logo.  According to the GC2018 bid website, the logo’s 72 coloured dots are of sunshine, each one representing a Commonwealth Games Association member nation.


John Oxley Library staff have begun collecting material related to the 2018 games bid, including the bid poster featuring the ‘colour of the sun’ logo.  According to the GC2018 bid website, the logo’s 72 coloured dots are of sunshine, each one representing a Commonwealth Games Association member nation.

The official GC2018 bid website has been captured and archived in PANDORA – Australia’s web archive.  The latest version of the preserved website includes the candidate city files, otherwise known as the bid book.  The capture of this website will be part of the permanent record to show how we showcased Queensland to the world and competed with Sri Lanka to hold the games.

To learn more about the Queensland’s bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and details about the bid decision announcement this Saturday visit http://www.goldcoast2018bid.com/

As the GC2018 tagline says “it’s our time to shine"

Maxine Fisher

Queensland Digital Content Coordinator, Queensland Memory - State Library of Queensland

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