A Tale Of Two Cities Busy On Hosting Delegations

• Commonwealth Games 2018

By Hishan Welmilla

The competition to win the bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games is reaching a climax as the two contenders are busy hosting delegations from Commonwealth Countries before the final vote.

Hambantota has during the last week welcomed a delegation of visitors from Europe who could be crucial in its bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The group representing Cyprus, England, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales share 10 votes between them, which could be crucial at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11 when Hambantota will face its only rival, the Gold Coast.
England is among the countries that still have to make up their minds about which way to vote.
Commonwealth Games England are due to hold a Board meeting next month when they will decide who they should back and this trip to the Sri Lankan city could prove crucial in helping them make up their minds .
The visit is the third in a series of regional inward missions by Commonwealth members ahead of the vote to decide the host city at the Commonwealth Games Federation general assembly in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11, 2011, organisers said in a statement. Next week it welcomes a delegation from Oceania ahead of a final visit from Asia in October.
In the meantime nineteen delegates from the Caribbean and the Americas – representing 26 per cent of the vote arrived last Tuesday on the Gold Coast to inspect the city and its sporting facilities.
So far the Gold Coast has hosted delegates from Europe, Oceania and Africa.
Next week a handful of executives on the Games board will visit, followed by the last group of six Asian delegates in October and the Gold Coast is in a race with Hambantota in Sri Lanka to win, needing a majority of the 71 votes.
Both Gold Coast and Hambantota have submitted their respective bids to host the 2018 edition of the Commonwealth Games and had an evaluation committee visit them to decide their readiness for the project. However, Hambantota will have to invest over 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in key requirements such as hospitals, infrastructure and telecommunications.
Earlier this month the CGF Evaluation Commission published its 144-page report on the two bidding cities and, while it admitted Hambantota presented a risk compared to the Gold Coast, it also concluded that the city “presents an exciting opportunity for the Commonwealth Games to assist in the development of the city and the country in a substantial and impactful way”.
Hambantota, who have become increasingly active as the vote has drawn closer, earlier this year, published its legacy plan, outlining how Sri Lanka will harness the power of sport and the benefits of becoming the Commonwealth Games to help continue its rapid development.
According to the report released by the Commonwealth Games Federation  the Gold Coast venue was described as having demonstrated a thorough understanding of the games’ requirements including medical and health, Games village, sport and venues, finance, customs and immigration formalities, security and media operations.
But the authorities responsible for the bidding of the Island nation have positive thoughts as the Hambantota 2018 bid is looking to impress with plans described as ‘visionary, exciting and unique’ by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Evaluation Commission. The commission was treated with a tour of what is considered to be the most compact design concepts that have ever been developed for the Commonwealth Games.