2018 Commonwealth Games, Host selection
The land exchanged would be used as the site of an aquatics centre. In the same article, Mayor Clarke raised the question of the Australian Federal Government's commitment to a 2018 Commonwealth Games bid in light of the Government's support for Australia's 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals bid. On 16 April 2009, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told reporters that a successful Commonwealth Games bid by Gold Coast City could help the tourist strip win a role in hosting the World Cup.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Host selection
"Some of the infrastructure that would be built for the Commonwealth Games will be useful for Gold Coast City to get a World Cup game out of the soccer World Cup if we're successful as a nation," she said. However the decision on the venues for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups were made eleven months prior to the bid decision for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, so the potential World Cup venues had already been chosen. On 3 June 2009, Gold Coast City was confirmed as Australia's exclusive bidder vying for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. "Should a bid proceed, Gold Coast City will have the exclusive Australian rights to bid as host city for 2018," Bligh stated.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Host selection
"Recently I met with the president and CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association and we agreed to commission a full and comprehensive feasibility study into the potential for the 2018 Commonwealth Games," she said. "Under the stewardship of Queensland Events new chair, Geoff Dixon, that study is now well advanced." On 15 March 2010, it was announced that the Queensland Government will provide initial funding of A$11 million for the 2018 Commonwealth Games bid.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Host selection
The Premier of Queensland has indicated the Government's support for the bid to the Australian Commonwealth Games Association. On 31 March 2010, the Australian Commonwealth Games Association officially launched the bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In October 2011, Gold Coast City Mayor Ron Clarke stated that the games would provide a strong legacy for the city after the games have ended.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Host selection
On 31 March 2010, a surprise bid was made for the 2018 Commonwealth Games by the Sri Lankan city of Hambantota. Hambantota was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and is undergoing a major face lift. The first phase of the Port of Hambantota is nearing completion and it is funded by the government of China. The Mattala International Airport, which is the second international Airport of Sri Lanka is built close to Hambantota. A new Hambantota International Cricket Stadium had also been built, which had hosted matches in the 2011 Cricket World Cup.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Host selection
On 10 November 2011, the Hambantota bidders claimed they had already secured enough votes to win the hosting rights. However, on 11 November it was officially announced Gold Coast City had won the rights to host the games.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation
The event was overseen by the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC). The GOLDOC was formed in 2012 by the Government of Queensland. Its headquarters were located in Ashmore, a suburban region of Gold Coast. In February 2012, Mark Peters was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the GOLDOC. The Queensland Government Minister Kate Jones was tasked with overseeing the Games. Peter Beattie AC served as the Chairman of GOLDOC who was appointed on 17 May 2016 to replace Nigel Chamier OAM.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Venues
The Gold Coast 2018 was hosted across 18 venues located on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns. Sporting venues were well ahead available of Gold Coast 2018 ensuring that they were used and tested before the Games. The Australian and Queensland Governments and the City of Gold Coast invested A$320 million to deliver new and upgraded venues. Lendlease was the overlay delivery partner and official supporter property and infrastructure of the Games.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Venues, Venues in Gold Coast
Carrara Stadium, located in the suburb of Carrara, was the main venue for Athletics, the Opening ceremony and the Closing ceremony. The seating capacity of the stadium was temporarily increased to 40,000 for the games by the installation of a large temporary North Stand. The new Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre hosted the Badminton, Para Powerlifting, Weightlifting and Wrestling events. The Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium hosted the back-of-house event operations.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Venues, Venues in Gold Coast
The Gold Coast City Convention and Exhibition Centre, located in the suburb of Broadbeach, hosted Basketball and Netball (preliminaries) and also served as the Main Media Centre and International Broadcast centre hosting over 3000 members of the worlds press. The Broadbeach Bowls Club hosted the Bowls competition.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Venues, Venues in Gold Coast
The Nerang Mountain Bike Trails was the location for the Mountain Bike competition. A new course was constructed to meet international competition requirements and temporary spectator seating for 2,000 spectators.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Venues, Venues in Gold Coast
The newly built Coomera Indoor Sports Centre hosted Gymnastics and Netball (finals). The Oxenford Studios hosted the sports of Boxing, Table Tennis and Squash. During Games mode the venue was enhanced to provide for the International Sporting Federation technical venue requirements and provide spectator seating of 3,000 (boxing) and 3,200 (table tennis). The Gold Coast Hockey Centre hosted the men's and women's hockey events during the games. The Southport Broadwater Parklands hosted Triathlon, Marathon and Racewalking events. The Optus aquatic centre hosted the Swimming and Diving events.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Venues, Venues in Gold Coast
Robina Stadium hosted the Rugby 7s competition and upgraded to meet World Rugby standards. The Currumbin Beachfront hosted the road racing elements of the cycling programme. Coolangatta Beachfront hosted the Beach volleyball event.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Venues, Venues outside Gold Coast
Brisbane, along with the Gold Coast, forms part of the South East Queensland conurbation. Track Cycling was held at the Sleeman Sports Complex in the suburb of Chandler, where a new indoor cycling velodrome (Anna Meares Velodrome) was built. The Velodrome's seat capacity was 4,000 during the games mode.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Venues, Venues outside Gold Coast
The Shooting disciplines were held at the Belmont Shooting Centre. In Tropical North Queensland, the Cairns Convention Centre and Townsville Entertainment Centre hosted the preliminary rounds of both the men's and women's basketball competitions.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Athletes village
The Athletes Village was officially opened from 25 March 2018 and provided accommodation and services to 6,600 athletes and officials in 1252 permanent dwellings. It was located in Southport, Gold Coast and was built at a cost of A$550 million. There were 1170 one and two-bedroom apartments and 82 three-bedroom townhouses. The village had three zones - International, Residential and Operational.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Athletes village
The residential zone accommodated athletes and officials and also offered recreation, gym and medical facilities. The equipment in the gym was sponsored by Technogym. Adjoining the gym was the Athlete Recovery Area. The International Zone consisted of retail services, shops and the main dining hall. The Festival 2018 events were also held in the International Zone. The Dining hall served over 18,000 meals per day to the athletes during the Games. Australian telecommunications company Optus opened a store in the International zone named "Yes Optus Store" which provided free calling services to the athletes and officials and other services such as phone charging and watching events of the Games in televisions. Optus also provided free Wifi services in the village.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Financing
The sports-related costs of Gold Coast 2018 was A$1.5 billion (US$1.2 billion). This does not include wider costs for urban and transport infrastructure, which often cost as much or more than the sports-related costs. The following are the cost that were spent by the Queensland state government to deliver the event:


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Countdown
The countdown clocks were unveiled on 4 April 2013, exactly five years from the opening ceremony of the games. The clocks were shaped as a surfboard and were located at the beach end of Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise and in South Bank Parklands in Brisbane. The Countdown Clock was the first fixed element of the Commonwealth Games visual identity program.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Ticketing
The ticket requests began on 24 April 2017 and ended on 22 May 2017. The first round of tickets were allocated on 22 June 2017 via a computer-generated ballot system. About 70% of the people who applied for the tickets had received some or all of the tickets requested in the first phase. In Australia, ticket prices ranged from A$10 for many events to A$495 for the most expensive seats at the opening ceremony. The games expected to have 1.2 million tickets for sale. Around 1.06 million tickets were sold by 3 April 2018. Ticketek was the provider of ticketing services for the Games.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Queen's baton relay
The Queen's baton of the 2018 Commonwealth Games had a distinctive loop design and was made of macadamia wood and recycled plastic sourced from Gold Coast waterways. Its design was inspired by the Queensland's "vibrant spirit and indigenous heritage" and with sustainability.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Queen's baton relay
The design of the baton was unveiled on 20 November 2016 at a special ceremony in the Jupiter Gold Coast hotel. The baton was designed by the Brisbane-based firm Designworks. At the 2018 Good Design Awards conducted by the Good Design Australia, the baton won the Best Product Sport and Lifestyle award.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Queen's baton relay
The Queen's baton relay was launched on Commonwealth Day, 13 March 2017, on the historic forecourt at Buckingham Palace in London, signalling the official countdown to the start of the Games. Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Edward, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II heralded the start of the relay by placing her 'message to the Commonwealth and its athletes' into the distinctive loop-design Queen's Baton which then set off on its journey around the globe.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Queen's baton relay
The baton traveled for 388 days, spending time in every nation and territory of the Commonwealth. The Gold Coast 2018 Queen's Baton Relay was the longest in Commonwealth Games history. Covering 230,000 km over 388 days, the baton made its way through the six Commonwealth regions of Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The baton landed on Australian soil in December 2017 and then spent 100 days travelling through Australia, finishing its journey at the opening ceremony on 4 April 2018, where the message was removed from the Baton and read aloud by Charles, Prince of Wales.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Queen's baton relay
In July 2018, it was reported that over A$6.4 million were spent on the Queen's baton relay. Its launching ceremony which was held at the Buckingham Palace, cost over A$380,000. The cost of the international leg of the journey was $2.1 million and the cost of the domestic trip was $4.3 million.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Queen's baton relay
Tourism Australia and QSuper sponsored the international and Australian segment of Queen's Baton Relay respectively, while Longines sponsored both the segments.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Medals
The medals for the Games were officially unveiled at a charity gala held on 4 November 2017. Australian Indigenous artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins designed the medals, while they were produced by the Royal Australian Mint. The design of the medals was inspired by the coastline of Gold Coast along with Indigenous culture.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Medals
Furthermore, Cockatoo-Collins mentioned, "the medal design represents soft sand lines which shift with every tide and wave, also symbolic of athletic achievement, The continual change of tide represents the evolution in athletes who are making their mark, Records are made and special moments of elation are celebrated". Approximately 1,500 medals were created to be distributed to the medalists and each measures approximately 63 millimetres in diameter. The medals weigh between 138 and 163 grams.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Volunteering
Over 15,000 volunteers were hired for the Games. Over 45,000 applicants applied to become a volunteer. The uniforms for the volunteers were revealed on 11 November 2017 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. Former Gold Coast Titans player Mat Rogers who was present at the uniform showcase ceremony, said that the uniforms were "very Gold Coast" and it was like an "active wear". Hard Yakka was the official supplier of the uniforms for the volunteers.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Transport
During the Games period, free public transportation within Queensland region was provided to ticket and accreditation holders. The free transportation services were available on local buses, train and Gold Coast light rail (G:link) services in Gold Coast and on TransLink and Qconnect bus services in Cairns and Townsville.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Transport
The Gold Coast light rail system, connected a number of the key games venues including the Optus Aquatic Centre, Broadwater Parklands and the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre with the major accommodation centres of Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach and the Athletes Village at Parklands. An extension to the system was announced in October 2015, connecting the then current terminus at Gold Coast University Hospital to the railway line to Brisbane at Helensvale. The extension opened in December 2017, in time for the games.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Transport
Four temporary Games lanes were introduced along the M1 and activated at different times to decrease traffic disruptions for road users. These were used by police and emergency vehicles, spectator shuttle buses and accredited Games family and athletes. The Gold Coast Airport served as the official airport for the Games.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Security
A total of 3,500 police officers from Queensland and 4,000 security personnel from the Australian security companies MSS Security, Wilson Security, SecureCorp and SNP were present at the Games. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) assisted Gold Coast authorities in ensuring the security of the Games and deployed over 1,000 personnel to help with the effort.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Security
Futhermore, Operation ATLAS was the codename for the ADF contribution to the security of the Games. Over A$34 million (US$26 million) were spent on the deployment of the armed forces to provide rapid-response squads, bomb detectors, offshore patrols and surveillance. The Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force assisted the Queensland Police Service (QPS) who were the lead agency of the Games' security. American cyber security software company Symantec provided IT and cyber security services for the Games.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Anti-doping
The Australian Sports Anti- Doping Authority conducted an anti-doping drive in the months prior to the Games, covering around 2500 tests of Australian athletes, as well as 500 tests against international athletes. Three Australians failed drug tests in this process, along with around 20 international athletes, subject to appeal. The Commonwealth Games Federation conducted in-competition testing and, matching protocol at the Olympic Games, launched a sample storage initiative to allow for future testing of samples up to ten years later, should detection technology improve.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Festival 2018
The Festival 2018 was a 12-day multi-arts program for the 2018 Commonwealth Games which included free musical performances, activities, public art and other family-friendly events. The program took place at Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach in Gold Coast, Cultural Forecourt, South Bank in Brisbane, Lagoon Precinct in Cairns and Jezzine Barracks, Strand Park and Queens Gardens in Townsville.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Sustainability
The GOLDOC delivered the event with a focus on sustainability under the guidance of the ISO 20121 event sustainability management system and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework Sustainability Reporting Standards. The GOLDOC received the Sustainability Award in the Australian Business Awards 2016 for focusing on sustainable practices and planning in the preparation of the games. The GOLDOC headquarters received the 4 Star Green Star – Interiors PILOT rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. The new Anna Meares Velodrome, built specifically for the games, is the first velodrome in the world to have full LED broadcast-quality lighting that cuts energy consumption by up to 60% and reduces running costs and carbon emissions.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony was held at Carrara Stadium in the Gold Coast, Australia, between 20:00 and 22:40 AEST, on 4 April 2018. The Head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II, was represented by her son, Charles, Prince of Wales. David Zolkwer was its artistic director, with music direction by Katie Noonan. Live musical performers included Christine Anu, Delta Goodrem, Katie Noonan, Ricki-Lee Coutler and Ruel who performed "Golden Years" as the closing act. The ceremony transmitted live on Channel 7 attracted a peak viewing audience of over 2 million in Australia.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony was held at Carrara Stadium on Sunday 15 April and was produced by Jack Morton Worldwide at a cost of AU$30 million. Australian pop stars Guy Sebastian, Samantha Jade, Dami Im, Ricki Lee and The Veronicas were among the performers.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Development and preparation, Closing ceremony
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, declared the Games closed and passed the Commonwealth Games flag to Birmingham, England which will host the 2022 Games.


2018 Commonwealth Games, The Games, Participating Commonwealth Games Associations
There were 71 Commonwealth Games Associations competing at 2018 Commonwealth Games. Maldives were scheduled to participate, but in October 2016 they withdrew from the Commonwealth. The Gambia returned to the Commonwealth Games after being readmitted as a Commonwealth Games Federation member on 31 March 2018.


2018 Commonwealth Games, The Games, Sports
The 2018 Commonwealth Games featured 18 different sports encompassing 23 disciplines and 275 events. In the list below, the number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.


2018 Commonwealth Games, The Games, Sports
The regulations stated that from the 26 approved sports administered by Commonwealth Governing Bodies, a minimum of ten core sports and maximum of seventeen sports must be included in any Commonwealth Games schedule.


2018 Commonwealth Games, The Games, Sports
The approved sports included the 10 core sports: athletics, badminton, boxing, hockey, lawn bowls, netball (for women), rugby sevens, squash, swimming and weightlifting. Integrated disabled competitions were also scheduled for the Games in nine sports: swimming, athletics, cycling, table tennis, powerlifting and lawn bowls. Along with these events for the first time EAD events in triathlon were held, with the medals added to the final tally for each nation. A record 38 para events were contested at these games. On 8 March 2016, beach volleyball was announced as the 18th sport.


2018 Commonwealth Games, The Games, Sports
The program was broadly similar to that of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, with the major changes being the dropping of judo, the reintroduction of basketball, the debut of women's rugby sevens and beach volleyball.


2018 Commonwealth Games, The Games, Sports
On 7 October 2016, it was announced seven new events for women were added to the sport program, meaning there are an equal number of events for men and women. This marks the first time in history that a major multi-sport event has equality in terms of events. In total 275 events in 18 sports are being contested.


2018 Commonwealth Games, The Games, Medal table
Only the top ten successful nations are displayed here. The ranking in this table is consistent with International Olympic Committee convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a "nation" is an entity represented by a Commonwealth Games Association). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by their three-letter country code. Australia came in first in the medal table rank with 80 gold, the second being England with 45 gold, and the third being India with 26 gold.


2018 Commonwealth Games, The Games, Medal table
Two bronze medals were awarded in boxing. In four events of Wrestling, only five nations entered the event, per Commonwealth Games regulations, only one bronze medal was available. No bronze medal was awarded in the Women's 50 metre butterfly S7, Women's Powerlifting heavyweight and the Women's Wrestling freestyle 50 kg as only four athletes competed in the event per Commonwealth Games regulations, the bronze medal was not available. At Women's tandem sprint B and the Women's tandem 1 km time trial B only one gold medal was available, as only three nations entered the event.


2018 Commonwealth Games, The Games, Medal table
Additionally, two silver medals were awarded in the men's gymnastics horizontal bar, Swimming Men's 100 metre freestyle and the Women's 50 metre freestyleas a result of a tie between two athletes. Therefore, the total number of bronze medals is greater than the total number of gold or silver medals.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Broadcasting
NEP Australia was the host broadcaster of the event. It produced high definition coverage of the event and delivered to the rights-holding broadcasters of other nations. In Australia, the games were broadcast live on three Seven Network channels - 7HD, 7TWO and 7Mate. In the United Kingdom, BBC provided Commonwealth Games coverage of more than 200 hours across BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Red Button, BBC Sport website, BBC iPlayer and BBC radio. ESPN provided the games coverage for viewers in the USA. Sony Pictures Networks India broadcast the games for the viewers in India on three channels - Sony Six, Sony Ten 2 in English and Sony Ten 3 in Hindi.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Broadcasting
Flow Sports provided games coverage in the Caribbean countries and territories such as Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat,  Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago along Turks and Caicos. Flow Sports provided coverage of the event on Flow Sports 1, Flow Sports 2 and up to three additional "Flow Sports Extra" channels.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Broadcasting
The New Zealand government funded Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited (PCBL) broadcast the event on Pasifika TV in the Oceanian countries such as Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tuvalu.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Marketing, Motto
The official motto for the 2018 Commonwealth Games was "Share the Dream". It was chosen to highlight the dreams and experience at the games that were shared by participants of the games, ranging from athletes to volunteers and the host country Australia to the world including the Commonwealth nations.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Marketing, Emblem
The emblem was launched on 4 April 2013, which marked exactly five years until its opening ceremony. It was unveiled at the Southport Broadwater Parklands. It was designed by the New South Wales based brand consultancy WiteKite. The emblem of the 2018 Commonwealth Games was a silhouette of the skyline and landscape of Gold Coast, the host city of the games. Nigel Chamier OAM, former Chairman of the GOLDOC, said that it was the result of months of market research.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Marketing, Mascot
Borobi was named as the mascot of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in 2016. Borobi is a blue koala, with indigenous markings on its body. The term "borobi" means koala in the Yugambeh language, spoken by the indigenous Yugambeh people of the Gold Coast and surrounding areas. The song ''Days of Gold'' composed by the Australian Duo band Busby Marou, which was released on 17 October 2014, was considered as the official song of the Mascot Borobi.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Marketing, Sponsors
The official partners of the games were The Star Gold Coast, Griffith University, TAFE Queensland, Longines, Optus, Atos and Woolworths Supermarkets. Griffith University was also the Creative Arts partner of the games and Presenting partner of the Gold Coast Marathon. TAFE Queensland was responsible for providing vocational education and training program for the volunteers of the games. Longines served as the official timekeeper of the games.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Marketing, Music
Australian singer Delta Goodrem wrote the song "Welcome to Earth", which is about the planet Earth and the theme of the opening ceremony. She performed the song live during the ceremony and was worldwide praised. The song was worldwide released on 5 April 2018 in Delta Goodrem's official YouTube channel.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Concerns and controversies
There were some concerns and controversies with the Games. The GOLDOC had asked from the event producing companies to submit bids for producing the ceremonies of the Games. Three Australian companies Specktak International, World Events, Dae Global and one American company Jack Morton Worldwide (JMW) submitted bids to the GOLDOC. Later, the GOLDOC revealed that JMW was selected to produce the ceremonies of the Games. This sparked an anger among the other three Australian companies as why the GOLDOC chose an American company when the Games event was going to be staged in Australia. But later, a GOLDOC official revealed they chose JMW because they had better experiences in producing ceremonies of multi-sport events.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Concerns and controversies
Team India violated the Games No-needle policy two times. Just two days before the opening of the Games, a cleaner found needles in a bottle in the Athletes' Village. The Games official found that the syringes belonged to Indian doctor Dr Amol Patil which he used to inject vitamin B12 to an Indian athlete and did not dispose them properly after using them and violated the Games no-needle policy. As a result, the Indian team officials received serious warnings from the Games officials. Later two Indian athletes race walker Irfan Kolothum Thodi and triple jumper Rakesh Babu were suspended from the Games as needles were found in their apartment which was also against the Games policy.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Concerns and controversies
At least 13 athletes from four countries - Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone - absconded during or immediately after the Games. Some missed their competitions. A month after the games ended, officials estimated that 50 athletes had remained in Australia illegally, with another 200 staying in the country on visas. In October 2019, it was found from the official documents that the Department of Home Affairs had rejected the asylum claims of 217 out of 230 athletes. The official documents also found that 17 "unlawful non-citizens" who took part in the Commonwealth Games were still in Australia, 14 of which were from Ghana and Rwanda. A total of 13 remain unaccounted for, while four were in detention.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Concerns and controversies
The organising committee decided to bring in the athletes before the start of the closing ceremony. This caused an uproar on social media as, contrary to public expectations, none of the athletes were shown entering the stadium during the ceremony. Broadcast rights holders Channel 7 complained on air about the decision and concluded that, "it hasn't really lived up to expectations". Many spectators and athletes left during the ceremony, resulting in a half-empty stadium for much of the event. Following this, the ABC claimed that Channel 7 was briefed on the closing ceremony schedule, a claim which Channel 7 later refuted.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Legacy, Queensland's economy boost
Predictions by Griffith University estimated that the Games are estimated to deliver a $2.5 billion rise to the economy of Queensland, including $1.8 billion to the Gold Coast.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Legacy, Events
The city hosted the 17th Sport Accord World Sport and Business Summit from 5 to 10 May 2019 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.


2018 Commonwealth Games, Legacy, Events
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on 9 December 2019 that the state of Queensland will make an official bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics featuring venues across Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village
The 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village was an accommodation centre to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. It was located in Southport, Gold Coast.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Development, Priority development areas
The Economic Development Queensland (EDQ), Queensland Government’s specialist land use planning and property development unit, engages with state and local governments to identify areas of land for development within Queensland which are called Priority Development Areas (PDAs). PDAs are planned for development that provides commercial, industrial, residential and/or community development opportunities. The Minister for Economic Development Queensland (MEDQ) declare a PDA under the Economic Development Act 2012 and EDQ manages development projects in some PDAs.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Development, Parklands redevelopment
A 29-hectare of area in Parklands which is three kilometres from Southport Central Business District and 3.6 kilometres east of the Pacific Motorway was identified by EDQ and declared as a PDA in 2013. The Parklands PDA was declared to facilitate the Athletes Village for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which would be leased by the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) during the Games, and later the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Development, Parklands redevelopment
The Australian urban design and architecture firm, Archipelago Architects designed the original competition winning entry for the Commonwealth Games bid, and following a series of reference designs produced for cabinet to form an economic position on the project thereafter, Archipelago were appointed by EDQ to complete reference designs to assist in framing the PDA. Archipelago designed the master plan for the redevelopment of Parklands.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Development, Parklands redevelopment
The design and delivery of the project was undertaken as a joint venture between Archipelago, Arkhefield and ARM Architecture. The project featured 1,252 housing units, comprising 1,170 one and two-bedroom apartments and 82 three-bedroom townhouses over 18 buildings with 8 floors each and a 'village heart' with over 5800m² of retail. The Dutch company Arcadis provided engineering inputs into the concept and feasibility phase through to delivery of the Parklands site .


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Development, Parklands redevelopment
Australian company Grocon was appointed to construct the infrastructure of the Parklands project and the construction work commenced in late 2015. Its construction cost was A$550 million over 1800 workers were involved in the site's construction.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Development, Parklands redevelopment
Australian construction companies BMD Urban and JMac Constructions (JMac) (both belonging to BMD Group), constructed some of the works on the Parklands Project. BMD Urban constructed the community infrastructure in the project at a cost of A$65 million. JMac constructed the village heart at a cost of A$17 million.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Development, Remodel to athletes village
The site was handed over to the GOLDOC in October 2017 which allowed them to complete its transformation into the Athletes Village for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Australian property and infrastructure company Lendlease, appointed by GOLDOC, managed the overlay to the Athlete's Village which also included the development of the fully-equipped gymnasium and dining facilities in the Village.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Development, Awards
The Parklands developments has been recognised extensively for excellence in planning and design:


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Facilities
The Athletes Village was officially opened from 25 March 2018 and provided accommodation and services to 6,600 athletes and officials in 1252 permanent dwellings. There were 1170 one and two-bedroom apartments and 82 three-bedroom townhouses. The village had three zones - International, Residential and Operational.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Facilities
The residential zone accommodated athletes and officials and also offered recreation, gym and medical facilities. The gym was designed by the Australian Institute of Sport and equipment in the gym was sponsored by Technogym. Adjoining the gym was the Athlete Recovery Area.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Facilities
The International Zone consisted of retail services, shops and a self service buffet-style dining hall. The Festival 2018 events were also held in the International Zone. The Dining hall served over 18,000 meals per day to the athletes during the Games. Australian telecommunications company Optus opened a store in the International zone named "Yes Optus Store" which provided free calling services to the athletes and officials and other services such as phone charging and watching events of the Games in televisions. Optus also provided free Wifi services in the village. Athletes claimed that the Athletes Village was better than the Olympic Village built for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.


2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village, Post use
All apartments are currently offered for long-term rent generally for tenants from the Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus, Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast Private Hospital and the Southport Central Business District. The complex has been renamed to "Smith Collective". BWS and Woolworths also opened their stores in the complex in early 2019.


2018 Commonwealth Games Parade of Nations
During the Parade of Nations at the 2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, held on 4 April 2018, 71 athletes bearing the flags of their respective nations led their national delegations as they paraded into Carrara Stadium in the host city of Gold Coast, Australia.


2018 Commonwealth Games Parade of Nations, Parade order
Following tradition, the host of the previous games, Scotland enters first, followed by the rest of the European countries competing. Following this, all countries parade in alphabetical order from their respective regions. After the European countries enter, countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Caribbean, and lastly Oceania march in. The host nation of Australia enters last. Each nation was preceded by a placard bearer carrying a sign with the country's name.


2018 Commonwealth Games Parade of Nations, Parade order
A total of 39 male athletes carried their nation's flag, while 32 females did the same. Athletics was the most represented sport among the flag bearers, with 24 nations being led by track and field athletes.


2018 Commonwealth Games Parade of Nations, Countries and flag bearers
Below is a list of parading countries and their announced flag bearer, in the same order as the parade. This is sortable by country name, flag bearer's name, or flag bearer's sport. Names are given in the form officially designated by the CGF.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay
The 2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay was run from 13 March 2017 until 4 April 2018, prior to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. The baton bearer selection process for the Australian segment was announced on 18 October 2017.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay
As well as touring Australia the schedule included the other 70 Commonwealth Nations.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, Organisation
The Queen's Baton Relay was launched on Commonwealth Day, 13 March 2017, on the historic forecourt at Buckingham Palace in London, signalling the official countdown to the start of the Games. Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Edward, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II heralded the start of the relay by placing her 'message to the Commonwealth and its athletes' into the distinctive loop-design Queen's Baton which then set off on its journey around the globe.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, Organisation
Her Majesty was accompanied by Louise Martin, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Peter Beattie, Chairman of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) and Yugambeh elders Patricia O'Connor and Ted Williams in the ceremony. The Queen's baton was brought into the stage by Australian Paralympic champion Kurt Fearnley . He started from Marlborough House up The Mall and then into the Forecourt of Buckingham Palace. He was also accompanied by the Band of the Scots Guards, who played by permission of Major General BJ Bathurst, The Major General commanding the Household Division.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, Organisation
After the message was placed safely inside the Baton, The Queen handed over the baton to Australian cyclist and Commonwealth and Olympic Games gold medalist Anna Meares. She, along with English track cyclist Victoria Pendleton, then carried the baton around the Queen Victoria Memorial and handed over to the Australian singer Cody Simpson. He then boarded on a Kombi van with the baton and left the place as an indication to the Baton's final destination, Gold Coast.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, Organisation
The baton travelled for 388 days, spending time in every nation and territory of the Commonwealth. The Gold Coast 2018 Queen's Baton Relay was the longest in Commonwealth Games history. Covering 230,000 km over 388 days, the baton made its way through the six Commonwealth regions of Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Oceania. For the first time in the history of the baton relay, the Queen's Baton was presented at the Commonwealth Youth Games during its sixth edition in 2017 which was held in Nassau, Bahamas. The baton landed on Australian soil on 24 December 2017 and then spent 100 days travelling through Australia.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, The Queen's baton
The Queen's baton for the 2018 Commonwealth Games had a distinctive loop design and was made of macadamia wood and recycled plastic sourced from Gold Coast waterways. Its design was inspired by the Queensland's "vibrant spirit and indigenous heritage" and with sustainability. The design of the baton was unveiled on 20 November 2016 at a special ceremony in the Jupiter Gold Coast hotel. The baton was designed by Alex Wall and Warren Shroeder from the Brisbane-based firm Designworks. At the 2018 Good Design Awards conducted by the Good Design Australia, the baton won the Best Product Sport and Lifestyle award.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, International route, Africa
The Queen's Baton travelled in the following countries in Africa:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, International route, Caribbean
The Queen's baton traveled in the following countries in the Caribbean:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, International route, Americas
The Queen's baton traveled in the following countries in Americas:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, International route, Europe
The Queen's baton traveled in the following countries in Europe:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, International route, Asia
The Queen's baton traveled in the following countries in Asia:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, International route, Oceania
The Queen's baton traveled in the following countries in Oceania:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, National route, Australian Capital Territory
The Queen's baton traveled in the following places in the Australian Capital Territory:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, National route, New South Wales
The Queen's baton traveled in the following places in the New South Wales:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, National route, Tasmania
The Queen's baton traveled in the following places in Tasmania:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, National route, Victoria
The Queen's baton traveled in the following places in Victoria:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, National route, South Australia
The Queen's baton traveled in the following places in South Australia:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, National route, Western Australia
The Queen's baton traveled in the following places in Western Australia:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, National route, Northern Territory
The Queen's baton traveled in the following places in the Northern Territory:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, National route, Queensland
The Queen's baton traveled in the following places in Queensland:


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, End of Relay
The end of the relay took place in the 2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, End of Relay
The Queen's baton was brought into the Carrara Stadium in a kombi van by Australian former swimmer Susie O'Neill. She then went to the centre of the stadium and images and videos of popular Gold Coast attractions were projected on the ground of the stadium such as feeding lorikeets, skydiving, dreaming in the ocean, walking in the treetops, and riding the rollercoaster. After that, she handed over the baton to Australian former cyclist Brad McGee , who took it to Australian wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, End of Relay
Fearnley after parading it around the stadium, handed over to Australian netballer Liz Ellis, who then took it to Australian hockey player Brent Livermore. Finally, Brent handed the baton over to Australian hurdler Sally Pearson. She received a large applause from the audience as she lives in Gold Coast. She went to the dais along with the baton and hand it over to the CGF President Louise Martin. Martin removed the Queen's message from the baton and handed to Prince Charles. Charles read out the message and declared the competition officially open.


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, Cost
In July 2018, it was reported that over A$6.4 million were spent on the Queen's baton relay. Its launching ceremony which was held at the Buckingham Palace, cost over A$380,000. The cost of the international leg of the journey was $2.1 million which included over $1 million for flights and accommodation, A$164,000 for photography and A$17,000 worth of advertising. The cost of the domestic trip was $4.3 million which included over A$1.5 million for flights and accommodation, A$1 million for staging, A$215,000 for uniforms and A$23,000 worth of "consumables".


2018 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay, Sponsors
Tourism Australia and QSuper sponsored the international and Australian segment of Queen's Baton Relay respectively, while Longines sponsored both the segments.


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony
The closing ceremony for the 2018 Commonwealth Games was held on 15 April 2018 in the Carrara stadium, Gold Coast. The worldwide broadcast began at 20:30 and finished at 22:30 AEST, lasting almost two hours. The athletes entered the stadium before the broadcast began, a decision which attracted widespread criticism. There was also criticism of the proliferation of official speeches.


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Singers performance
The closing ceremony started with a performance of Australian singer Amy Shark. She performed the song "Let Love Rule". She then introduced Australian musician Archie Roach and together with the youth choir continued the performance. Then thirteen year old poet Solli Raphael recited a poem about the Games. He is known for winning the Australian Poetry Slam competition in 2017 and is the youngest ever to win the competition. Australian singer Ricki-Lee Coutler performed her song "All We Need is Love". She also performed in the opening ceremony with her song "Technicolor Love". After her, Australian boy group The Koi Boys gave a performance. Anthony Callea performed the song "You Should Be Dancing" originally by the Bee Gees. After him, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt appeared as DJ along with Games mascot Borobi in the middle of the stage.


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Peter Beattie
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) chairman Peter Beattie gave a speech:


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Peter Beattie
What fantastic Games we have had. We have made history. We have shown the world what is means to be an Australian, Queenslander and Gold Coaster. Gold Coast 2018 will be remembered for many reasons. It will be remembered for firsts. These Games will be remembered for equal medals for women and men. These Games saw the full and authentic introduction of para-athletes. These Games saw recognition of our aboriginal people. The Commonwealth Games are extraodinary. They are a way for us to come together and share what we have in common. These Games will be remembered for the passion and commitment of so many people.....


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Peter Beattie
He also praised the athletes, volunteers, the CGF and wished good luck to the Birmingham 2022 committee. After him, the David Dixon Award was presented by the CGF president Louise Martin to New Zealand weightlifter David Liti who won gold at the Men's +105 kg weightlifting event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Louise Martin
Following the David Dixon award presentation, Louise Martin gave a speech about the conduct of the Games:


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Louise Martin
Gold Coast 2018 will forever be remembered as 'the Games of Firsts'. When I spoke at the opening of the Games 11 days ago, I asked the assembled athletes to grasp the opportunity of the Commonwealth Games and create their own history and fulfil their dreams. I must sincerely thank and congratulate them for rising so magnificently to this challenge.....


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Louise Martin
9 World Records and 83 Games Records were broken. From the first ever medals for Commonwealth islands and states; the first ever Jamaican Lawn Bowls team, the "Reggae Rollers", or the first-ever Ugandan netball team competing so strongly - these captivating stories, and the many others we witnessed here in Australia, are what Commonwealth sport is all about. It is what sets us apart in the world of sport and confirms that the 'Friendly Games' is alive and well, indeed more relevant than ever before....


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Louise Martin
The inspiring and impactful performances of our Commonwealth athletes have delivered on the promise of a historic collection of 'firsts' that were achieved in the run up to Games; whether that be the ground-breaking Reconciliation Action Plan, the equal number of medals for men and women for the first time, or the largest ever fully-integrated para-sport programme seen in Commonwealth and world sport.....


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Louise Martin
Martin also announced that the Games mascot Borobi should remain active after the Games in order to support and raise funds for the Yugambeh community.


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Ananstacia Palaszczuk
After Martin, Premier of Queensland Ananstacia Palaszczuk gave a speech:


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Ananstacia Palaszczuk
..... What we have seen the past two weeks is the beginning of Queensland's golden age. Nothing can stop us now. This should be the model for all Games to come. The world has seen Queensland at its best - where life is beautiful one day and perfect the next. You will always have friends right here in Queensland, thank you.


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Ananstacia Palaszczuk
The commonwealth Games ceremonial flag was passed from Tom Tate, Mayor of Gold Coast to Sam Coffa, President of Commonwealth Games Australia, to Louise Martin, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, to Ian Metcalfe, Chairman of Commonwealth Games England and finally to Anne Underwood, Lord Mayor of Birmingham. Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate presented his speech to the audience and thanked the volunteers for their support and wished good luck to the Birmingham 2022 committee. President of Commonwealth Games Australia Sam Coffa presented his speech and praised Gold Coast city and the athletes of the Games. He then offered his thanks to the people of Gold Coast for their support.


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Anne Underwood
Lord Mayor of Birmingham Anne Underwood gave her speech and told the crowd:


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Speeches, Anne Underwood
We are young and diverse city - we will showcase our city's youth and diversity


2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, Program, Birmingham handover
After her speech ended, a video about Birmingham's life and culture was shown in the screens of the stadium. The video showed the skyline of Birmingham city, its street markets, active youth, shopping streets, bars, pubs, Birmingham New Street railway station, trams and spaghetti junction. In the video, a man and a girl was shown dancing in one of the pubs of Birmingham and said ''a night you never forget, in a city that never sleeps''. The video ended with displaying the word #BRUM. Lady Sanity, a rap artist from Birmingham, then performed with her song ''Go The Distance''. After this, Amerah Saleh performed her poem "Tourist in My City" from what appeared to be the same location, but turned out to be Birmingham as she finished and walked into a six-minute one-take live dance performance to ELO's Mr Blue Sky.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table
The 2018 Commonwealth Games (officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games), was a multi-sport event held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018. 275 medal events were held at these games.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table
Australia, serving as the host nation, won the games with 80 gold, 59 silver and 59 bronze, for a total of 198 medals.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, Firsts
The Solomon Islands won its first Commonwealth Games medal, a bronze won by Jenly Tegu Wini in the women's 58 kg weightlifting event.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, Firsts
The Cook Islands won its first Commonwealth Games medal, a bronze won by Taiki Paniani and Aidan Zittersteijn in the men's pairs lawn bowls event.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, Firsts
Vanuatu won its first Commonwealth Games medal, a bronze won by para athlete Friana Kwevira in the women's javelin throw (F46) event.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, Firsts
Dominica won its first Commonwealth Games medal when Thea LaFond won a bronze medal in the women's triple jump event. A few days later, Dominica won its first ever silver medal when Yordanys Duranona Garcia came second in the men's triple jump event.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, Firsts
British Virgin Islands won its first Commonwealth Games medal when Kyron McMaster won a gold in the men's 400m hurdles.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, Firsts
Saint Lucia won its first Commonwealth Games gold medal when Levern Spencer won the women's high jump event.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, Medal table
The ranking in this table is consistent with International Olympic Committee convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a "nation" is an entity represented by a Commonwealth Games Association). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by their three-letter country code. Australia came in first in the medal table rank with 80 gold, the second being England with 45 gold, and the third being India with 26 gold.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, Medal table
Two bronze medals were awarded in boxing. In four events of Wrestling, only five nations entered the event, per Commonwealth Games regulations, only one bronze medal was available. No bronze medal was awarded in the Women's 50 metre butterfly S7, Women's Powerlifting heavyweight and the Women's Wrestling freestyle 50 kg as only four athletes competed in the event per Commonwealth Games regulations, the bronze medal was not available. At Women's tandem sprint B and the Women's tandem 1 km time trial B only one gold medal was available, as only three nations entered the event.


2018 Commonwealth Games medal table, Medal table
Additionally, two silver medals were awarded in the men's gymnastics horizontal bar, Swimming Men's 100 metre freestyle and the Women's 50 metre freestyleas a result of a tie between two athletes. Therefore, the total number of bronze medals is greater than the total number of gold or silver medals.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony
The opening ceremony for the 2018 Commonwealth Games took place on the evening of Wednesday 4 April in the Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast. As mandated by the Commonwealth Games Charter, the proceedings of the ceremony combined the formal opening of the sporting event (including hoisting of the flags, parade of the athletes and welcome speeches) with an artistic performance to showcase the host nation's culture. The 2018 Games were formally opened by Charles, Prince of Wales. Jack Morton Worldwide was given the contract to produce the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The theme of the opening ceremony was Hello Earth and directed by David Zolkwer.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony
The ceremony began at 20:00 AEST and lasted almost three hours. It was watched by an estimated worldwide television of 1.5 billion. The principal sections of the artistic display represented Australia's Indigenous culture, Gold Coast's Surfers Paradise, wildlife and theme parks. A medley of Australian classics were played live by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Youth Orchestra and Gold Coast Youth Orchestra during the parade of nations. Popular Australian recording artists such as Christine Anu, Delta Goodrem, Katie Noonan and Ricki-Lee Coutler performed at the ceremony. The opening ceremony was seen as a tremendous success and worldwide praised.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Preparations
Three Australian companies: Specktak International, World Events, Dae Global and one American company Jack Morton Worldwide (JMW) submitted bids to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) to produce the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. On 27 December 2015, the GOLDOC announced they chose Jack Morton Worldwide to produce the ceremonies of the games.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Preparations
This sparked a controversy as the head of all the three Australian Companies Ric Birch, head of Spectak, David Atkins, head of Dae Global and Julie Brooks, head of World Events questioned to GOLDOC that why an American company (JMW) was chosen for the production of ceremonies which was going to happen in Australia.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Preparations
Ric Birch, who co-ordinated the ceremonies of the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, called for a review of the decision to overlook three Australian companies to present the ceremonies at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Preparations
GOLDOC's head of communications Marcus Taylor said that JMW is an international company which have been working in Australia since 1983 and have a range of experiences in producing the ceremonies of events as they have previously done for 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Preparations
On 22 November 2017, the GOLDOC revealed some of the key artistic personnel working on the ceremonies of the games. The creative team for the opening and closing ceremonies consisted of a roster of renowned individuals. Leading the ceremonies team as Artistic Director and Project Director was David Zolkwer, Head of Jack Morton Worldwide Public Events. David previously led the teams for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Preparations
Australian singer Katie Noonan, winner of five ARIA music awards and former lead singer of Brisbane based band George, was given the role of the Music Director of the ceremonies. Katie said "I'm a fiercely proud Queensland musician; I think we make some of the best music in the world and indeed some of the best art in the world. There's some truly world class dance and music being made here, so it's a good time to focus on our (cultural) identity and realise that we're really good at what we do." She has served as the Artistic Director of the Queensland Music Festival since 2015.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Preparations
Nathan M. Wright served as the Head of Choreography and Staging Director for the opening ceremony. Nathan is a highly respected choreographer and performer who has worked on large-scale events extensively, including choreography for the opening and closing ceremonies of both the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in London and the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The role of Executive Producer for the ceremonies was given to Merryn Hughes. Merryn has also served as the Executive Producer for the ceremonies of the 2015 Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea and the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Countdown
The opening ceremony started with a countdown from 65000 years quickly to 10–1 seconds. When the countdown is finished, a very large firework exploded in the middle of the ground of the Carrara Stadium.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Hello Earth
Australian Actor Jack Thompson spoke about the history of Earth along with holding an illuminated globe.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Hello Earth
Home. That’s where we live. From here, you can’t see any borders. No barriers built to divide us, no people on different sides. All that we are, and have been, and can be, all that we value, all that we love, all our memories and stories, our hopes and our dreams, the best, and the worst, of us – is here, on that tiny grain of rock. From here there’s no sound of our quarrels, no voices in conflict, no people at war. From here it seems, we’re all the same, not drifting apart, but all connected. No sign of 'Other' – only Sister and Brother. No 'You', or 'Me' – just 'We'. From here, all that we see is all that we share: Shining, fragile, awesome… …our island home in a cosmic sea.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Hello Earth
When he finished his narration, he then placed the globe in the ground which was covered with beach sand. The image of earth was projected on the ground showcasing the movement of winds, oceans, wind currents and large mass of land. A group of girls stood at the image projection of land and raised their right hands. The large mass of land immediately separated into seven continents. After the separation of land masses, a white humpback whale "Migaloo" was shown swimming across the oceans and diving into the land of Australia.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Four Winds
World-renowned didgeridoo player William Barton played his instrument at the top of the Q1 tower. Hip-hop artist Mau Power from Thursday Island in the Torres Strait and Australian singer Christine Anu sang the song "My Island Home" along with Four Winds Didgeridoo Orchestra. A group of dancers holding small glowing spheres danced along with the song. When the song finished, the dancers immediately stood adjacent to each other forming the shape of Australian land boundary. Christine Anu sang the same song at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics and in the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome of dignitaries
Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation Louise Martin, Chairman of GOLDOC Peter Beattie and President of Commonwealth Games Australia Sam Coffa entered the stadium and welcomed with a huge applause by the audience. Australia's National Flag along the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag were hoisted in the stadium and Australian national anthem "Advance Australia Fair" was sung in an unusual way. While the anthem was sung, the image of the Australian coat of arms symbol was projected on the sand stadium's ground.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Totem ceremony
After the history of Earth segment, the traditional totem ceremony was showcased. This part of the ceremony represented the moment of reconnecting and regeneration. It showcased a ritual in which the ceremonial knowledge of the totemic system was passed down from past ancestors and elders, through present elders, to the future elders. Performers from the Bangarra Dance Theatre and performers from the Bangarra's "Rekindling" programme performed a dance with shields. Rekindling is an intensive dance-based education program for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander secondary students. After the dance performance, a large firework exploded in the middle of the stadium's ground.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Surfer’s Paradise
After the Totem ceremony segment, the Surfers Paradise scene was shown. A group of people wearing swimsuits gathered into the stadium along with props such as umbrellas, deck chairs, and beach towels. The image of the scenery of beach was projected onto the stadium's ground. Australian singer Ricki-Lee Coulter performed the song "Technicolor Love" and the people wearing swimsuits danced on the song.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Nations
Following tradition, the host of the previous games, Scotland entered first, followed by the rest of the European countries competing. Following this, all countries paraded in alphabetical order from their respective regions. After the European countries entered, countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Caribbean, and lastly Oceania marched in. The host nation of Australia entered last. The Parade of Nations track, designed by Cairns based Torres Strait Islander visual artist Brian Robinson, was a specially commissioned artwork drawing on indigenous and local culture and mythology, featuring stars, surfboards, sea animals and shells.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Nations
The young Surf Lifesavers of Australia, popularly called as the "Nippers", escorted the athletes carrying a surfboard bearing the country name. The image of each nation's flag was projected on the ground of the stadium. Kylie Minogue's famous song "Can't Get You Out of My Head", was played at the arrival of England into the stadium. Sia's song "Chandelier" was played at the arrival of New Zealand team.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Parade of Nations
After the parade of Commonwealth Nations, Australian singer Katie Noonan sang "You’re Welcome Here" with playing a piano backed by the Gold Coast Choir. She was also the musical director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the games.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Smoking ceremony
Contemporary aboriginal artist Luther Cora performed a traditional smoking ceremony with his family. The smoking ceremony is an ancient and enduring custom still practiced widely among many Indigenous Australians. It involved burning various native plants to produce smoke. It was mentioned in The Guardian that the meaning of the ceremony was to cleanse oneself by bathing in the smoke and connect with each other and with the land. It was also about connecting with good spirits.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Hoisting of the CGF flag
The Commonwealth Games flag was brought into the stadium by six athletes namely Dominican high jumper Brendan Williams, South African para swimmer Natalie Du Toit (para-sport representative), New Zealand professional racing cyclist Alison Shanks, Canadian high jumper Nicole Forrester, retired Scottish rugby union player Colin Gregor and Scottish women's hockey player Rhona Toft. The six athletes were also appointed to the CGF Athlete Advisory Commission on 3 April 2018. Australian singer John Farnham's song "You're the Voice" was played when the athletes entered into the stadium with the flag. John Farnham performed the same song at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Oath
Australian lawn bowls athlete Karen Murphy took the athlete's oath, while Australian netball coach Lisa Alexander took the coaches oath and athletics official Desmond Johnston took the officials oath.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Oath
The Oath We come to this place from many lands… To demonstrate the spirit of true sportsmanship that we all share. And to stand up for the values and ideals that live at the heart of these Games: Our shared Humanity – the respect we give each other, finding lasting friendships and common ground in our diversity. Our shared Equality – the level playing field on which we compete, providing fairness and opportunity for all. And our shared Destiny – to do our best here, so we inspire individuals and communities around the world to realise their own aspirations. This is our oath.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Speeches
Chairman of GOLDOC The Hon. Peter Beattie AC gave a speech about the games and welcomed the athletes.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Speeches
Beautiful one day, perfect the next. Welcome to Australia, welcome to Queensland, and welcome to the Gold Coast!


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Speeches
After him, President of the CGF Dame Louise Martin gave a speech about the games. She started her speech by telling about her own experiences when she was an athlete representing Scotland at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth. She also stated that the 2018 Commonwealth Games were the first International Multi Sport Event to have equal medal opportunities for both men and women and the first Games to include a Reconciliation Action Plan, respecting and recognising the first nation peoples of the entire Commonwealth. Further she added that the games were the largest fully inclusive para-sport medal events programme ever at a Commonwealth Games; the largest at any international sports event.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Queen's Baton and opening of the games
The Queen's baton, which contained the message letter written by Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace in London, was brought into the stadium in the kombi van by Australian former swimmer Susie O’Neill AM. She then went to the centre of the stadium. Images and videos of popular Gold Coast attractions were projected on the ground of the stadium such as feeding lorikeets, skydiving, dreaming in the ocean, walking in the treetops, and riding the rollercoaster.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Queen's Baton and opening of the games
After that, she handed over the baton to Australian former cyclist Brad McGee OAM, who took it to Australian wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley AO. Kurt after parading it around the stadium, handed over to Australian netballer Liz Ellis AO, who then took it to Australian hockey player Brent Livermore OAM. Finally, Brent handed the baton over to Australian hurdler Sally Pearson OAM. She received a large applause from the audience as she lives in Gold Coast. She went to the dais along with the baton and hand it over to Louise Martin. Louise removed the Queen's message from the baton and handed to HRH Prince Charles. Charles read out the message and declared the competition officially open.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, Queen's Baton and opening of the games
It now gives me the greatest pleasure to declare the 21st Commonwealth Games open.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Proceedings, In the end
Australian singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem performed her song "Welcome to Earth". After her performance, a large number of people gathered at the stadium and Sigur-Rossy music was played. A large white whale Migaloo shaped balloon was brought into the stadium. Images of Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef were projected on the whale shaped balloon. The artwork was designed by Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, the artist who also designed the medals for the Games. Australian singer Ruel sang his song "Golden Years" and fireworks exploded on the roof of the stadium. Delta Goodrem's "Together We Are One" remix version single was played after Ruel's performance and a large number of fireworks exploded on the roof of the Carrara stadium and also near The Star Gold Coast hotel.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Music
Katie Noonan, winner of five ARIA music awards, was Musical Director of the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The soundtrack was produced by Michael Tan, who was appointed the role of Musical Arranger and Composer.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Music
The ceremony featured the performances of singers, orchestras and songs of Australia in order to give an exposure of Australian music around the world and to showcase the culture of Australia. In the Four Winds segment, Australian singer Christine Anu and Torres Strait rapper Mau Power covered the song "My Island Home" which was one of the hit songs in Australia in 1995. Australian pop singer Ricki Lee Coutler sang "Technicolor Love" during the Surfer's Paradise segment in order to showcase the fun thriving beach life of Gold Coast.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Music
During the parade of nations, an orchestral medley of Australian classics were played by the members of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Youth Orchestra and Gold Coast Youth Orchestra which were led by conductor John Foreman. The songs played by the orchestras were INXS's "Need You Tonight", Men at Work's "Down Under", The Church's "Under The Milky Way", Little River Band's "Reminiscing", Alex Lloyd's "Amazing’’, The Divinyls’ "I Touch Myself", Kylie Minogue's "Can’t Get You Out of My Head", Australian Crawl's "Reckless" and Stevie Wright's "Evie".


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Music
Katie Noonan performed a song "You’re Welcome Here" after the parade of nations. "You’re The Voice", recorded by Australian singer John Farnham and one of the biggest hits in 1986 in Australia was played by the orchestra when the CGF flag was brought into the stadium. Australian pop singer Delta Goodrem, winner of nine ARIA music awards, performed the official theme song of the opening ceremony "Welcome to Earth".


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Reviews
The Courier-Mail said "Gold Coast finally welcomed the world to its biggest ever party with a dazzling Commonwealth Games opening ceremony". The New Daily said the opening ceremony had "wowed" the fans on the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast Bulletin called the opening ceremony as "dazzling" and "welcomed the world to its biggest ever party". The West Australian said that the "Spirits gone high" in the Gold Coast after the opening ceremony. The SBS called the ceremony as "dazzling" and the ABC said that the opening ceremony had "signaled great start for the 2018 Commonwealth Games".


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Reviews
Foreign reaction was overwhelmingly positive. The BBC said the 2018 Commonwealth Games started with a "colorful" and "spectacular" opening ceremony. The London Evening Standard said the games began with a "spectacular opening ceremony paying tribute to region's Aboriginal history." The Daily Telegraph reported "Gold Coast Commonwealth Games began with every symbol of Australiana".


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Reviews
The Firstpost said "Opening ceremony of Commonwealth Games 2018 celebrates indigenous culture, beaches and diversity". The Times of India provided live updates of the ceremony in their official website and at the end commented "What a spectacular welcome Gold Coast has given to the participating teams!". The Hindu said "...the opening ceremony of the XXI Commonwealth Games on Wednesday night was painted with colour and gaiety....". They also commented "The pageant showcased the Australian tradition and culture in all its glory".


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Reviews
The CNN reported "Commonwealth Games' opening ceremony celebrates Australia's Indigenous culture". However, the CNN also commented that the Commonwealth Games are regarded as an enduring reminder of British imperialism. As it was raining for few minutes at the beginning of the opening ceremony, the Toronto Star noticed and commented "Commonwealth Games begin after rain drenches spectators at Gold Coast opening ceremony".


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Technical aspects
Norwest productions was the official audio supplier for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games. A large optocore fibre network was used for site-wide signal distribution by the company. Stagekings, a Sutherland Shire company provided the sets and staging for the opening ceremony. The company constructed most of the structures, from the speech stages, flag stages, the sand centre-piece, the sand surround (compete with smoke effect and light ring), the parade path, mobile lifeguard tower, the beach showers, lecterns, the Royal Box, Migaloo's buggy, even the glowing globe that Jack Thompson used to open the show. Cairns based Torres Strait Islander visual artist Brian Robinson designed the Parade Track in the Carrara stadium.


2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Controversy
Some 15,000 tickets for the event had the wrong day printed on them (Thursday), instead of the correct date (Wednesday).


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
The 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, also known as CHOGM 2018, was the 25th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in the United Kingdom. The meeting had been planned to have been held by Vanuatu at the end of 2017, but was moved to the United Kingdom after the impact of Cyclone Pam on the infrastructure of Vanuatu. The meeting was then postponed to April 2018 due to other international commitments.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
The position of Commonwealth Chair-in-Office, held by the government leader of the CHOGM host country, was transferred at the summit from the Prime Minister of Malta to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who will hold the post until the 26th CHOGM (expected in 2021).


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda
The theme of the summit was "Towards a Common Future". The British hosts set out four main goals for the summit:


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda
Under consideration were: A Commonwealth Blue Charter on ocean governance, a Commonwealth connectivity agenda for trade and investment, a declaration on cybercrime, and revised Commonwealth guidelines on election observation in member countries.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda, Trade
This was the first CHOGM held following the United Kingdom's decision to withdraw from the European Union, a decision which has resulted in calls for Britain to strengthen its economic ties with and play a greater role in the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth, as of 2018, was responsible for one-tenth of British trade compare to the EU with which the UK currently conducts half of its trade. Intra-Commonwealth trade, overall, is expected to increase by at least 17% to around US$700 billion by 2020.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda, Trade
The British government reportedly hoped to use the CHOGM to open negotiations for expanded trade with Commonwealth nations to replace lost trade with the EU, however, as the summit began The Economist dismissed the belief that the Commonwealth could fill the gap created by Brexit as “an amiable delusion”.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda, Head of the Commonwealth and the Royal Family
The succession of the Headship of the Commonwealth,and the roles of other members of the Royal Family was discussed, and a proposal to nominate Queen Elizabeth II for the Nobel Peace Prize is also expected to feature in discussions.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda, Head of the Commonwealth and the Royal Family
At a speech welcoming Commonwealth leaders to Buckingham Palace on the first day of the summit, the Queen said "It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations, and will decide that one day the Prince of Wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949."


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda, Head of the Commonwealth and the Royal Family
On 20 April, the second day of the summit, the Commonwealth leaders agreed that Prince Charles would succeed the Queen as Head of the Commonwealth.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda, LGBT rights
The British government was accused by LGBT activists of backing away from plans to make LGBT rights in the Commonwealth of Nations an issue during the summit. Homosexuality remains a criminal offence in 37 out of 53 Commonwealth states. LGBT-rights campaigners from the UK and across the Commonwealth picketed Marlborough House, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat, on 19 April in order to draw attention to the issue.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda, LGBT rights
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said in a speech to Commonwealth leaders that she "deeply regrets" Britain's role in having same-sex conduct criminalized in colonial laws that remain in force in many Commonwealth countries, saying of these laws that “They were wrong then and they are wrong now” and that the UK government supports the reform of these laws in former colonies.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda, Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance
The UK promised to spend £61m to combat the pollution of the world's oceans by plastics and announced that it would ban plastic straws, microbeads, and other waste and to help developing countries curb plastics and other environmental pollutants from contaminating the oceans, and urged other Commonwealth countries to do the same. Five countries have joined the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance: the UK, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and Ghana.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Agenda, Commonwealth Cyber Declaration
The Commonwealth unanimously adopted the Commonwealth Cyber Declaration with leaders agreeing to work closely to strengthen their cybersecurity frameworks and response mechanisms by 2020.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Notable attendees
Overall, 47 out of 53 Commonwealth states were represented at the summit by their heads of government, with foreign ministers being the most senior attendees of the remaining countries.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Outcomes
The leaders issued a Communiqué at the close of the summit in which they:


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Outcomes
The leaders also issued a statement announcing their decision that Prince Charles will be the next Head of the Commonwealth.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Commonwealth Forums
Parallel Commonwealth Summit Forums were held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre from 16 to 19 April, with 5,000 participants attending from government, business, and civil society engaged in Women's, Youth, and Peoples Forums with a Business Forum being held at Guildhall. A joint plenary of all four fora was held for the first time on 17 April.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Commonwealth Forums
The Commonwealth Summit Forums saw participation from a number of Commonwealth heads of government and ministers. UK Prime Minister Theresa May opened the Business Forum on 16 April 2018  and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a keynote address at the Business Forum Banquet.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Commonwealth Forums
Various members of the royal family—including The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex— hosted and participated in various receptions and events being held as part of the forums or the heads of government meeting itself.


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Commonwealth Forums
Prince Harry, in his new role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, opened the Youth Forum telling delegates: "In my new role, I will work to support the Queen, my father the Prince of Wales, and my brother William, all of whom know that young people are the answer to the challenges of today."


2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Commonwealth Forums
On the final day of the meeting, Prince Harry and Markle attended a reception to promote women's empowerment and girls' education.


2018 Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia leadership election
The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) held a leadership election on 21 April 2018. Snap election was held as a result of party's losses in 2017 legislative election. Josef Skála was first major candidate to announce his candidacy. The incumbent leader Vojtěch Filip decided to run for another term. MEP Kateřina Konečná became third major candidate. Filip and Skála eventually advanced to second round.


2018 Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia leadership election
Filip won the election and was elected for another four years.


2018 Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia leadership election, Background
KSČM received only 8% in 2017 legislative election and was reduced to 15 seats. Josef Skála the leader of inner-party's opposition called for the resignation of the incumbent leader Vojtěch Filip. It was announced that snap election would be held in April 2018. Filip decided to not seek reelection. Skála announced he will run if he receives support in regions.


2018 Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia leadership election, Background
In November 2017, conflict within the party started. Radical wing represented by Skála attacked moderate wing led by Jiří Dolejš. Skála called Dolejš's wing Bourgeoisie opportunists. Dolejš believes that KSČM should modernise party's image.


2018 Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia leadership election, Background
The incumbent leader Vojtěch Filip eventually decided to seek another term as the leader and announced his candidacy on 27 February 2018. He secured large number of nominations from party's organisations. His candidacy was criticised by many members of the party due to his responsibility for 2017 election result. His main rival Skála was on the other hand criticised for his radical stances. MEP Kateřina Konečná was speculated as a possible third candidate due to her youth and moderate stances. Kateřina Konečná announced her candidacy on 27 March 2018. MPs Leo Luzar and Zdeněk Ondráček also received nominations for the position of leader.


2018 Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia leadership election, Background
Parlamentní Listy reported on 20 April 2018, that Luzar and Vondráček won't run but will instead support Konečná. 10 people were nominated for the position of leader. Filip, Skála and Konečná are considered only candidates with a real chance to win the position. Filip is considered the front-runner a he received highest number of nominations.


2018 Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia leadership election, Voting
Leo Luzar and Zdeněk Ondráček withdrawn from election early on 21 April 2018 and supported Kateřina Konečná. Stanslav Grospič also withdrawn from election. 315 delegates are allowed to vote. Ivan Hrůza withdrawn from election during his nomination speech and endorsed Skála. Vojtěch Filip and Josef Skála advanced to second round. Filip received 110 votes while Skála 105. Kateřnia Konečná came third with 79 votes. Filip won the second round, with 165 votes to Skála's 143.


2018 Comorian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in the Comoros on 30 July 2018. The constitutional amendments proposed would remove the presidential term limits and requirement for the presidency to rotate between the three main islands. Following the approval of the amendments by 92% of voters, President Azali Assoumani will be allowed to run for another five-year term in a vote moved forward to 2019 instead of 2021.


2018 Comoros Cup
The 2018 Coupe des Comores is the 2018 edition of the Coupe des Comores, the knockout football competition of the Comoros.


2018 Comoros Premier League
The 2018 Comoros Premier League is the top level football competition in the Comoros.


2018 Comoros Premier League, National championship
The champions of the three regional leagues of each island will take part in the final tournament to determinate the overall champions.


2018 Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 2018 Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Tournament is the men's volleyball tournament for Conference Carolinas during the 2018 NCAA Division I & II men's volleyball season. It is being held  April 17 through April 21, 2018 at campus sites. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.


2018 Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Tournament, Seeds
Eight of the nine teams are eligible for the postseason, with the highest seed hosting each round. Teams are seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records. Emmanuel is ineligible as they are still transitioning from NAIA to NCAA.


2018 Conference USA Baseball Tournament
The 2018 Conference USA Baseball Tournament was held between May 24 and May 28 at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. The annual tournament determines the conference champion of the Division I Conference USA for college baseball. As tournament champion, Southern Mississippi received the league's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2018 Conference USA Baseball Tournament
The tournament was established in 1996, Conference USA's first season of play. Rice has won the most championships, with seven, including 2017.


2018 Conference USA Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
The top eight finishers from the regular season will be seeded one through eight. The tournament will use a double elimination format.


2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game
The 2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 1, 2018, at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and determined the 2018 football champion of Conference USA (CUSA). The game featured the East Division champion Middle Tennessee against the West Division champion UAB. The game was televised by CBS Sports Network for the first time in the 13 years of the game. With sponsorship from Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company, the game was formally named the 2018 Globe Life Conference USA Championship Game.


2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game, Teams, UAB
The Blazers, in their second season after returning from a two-year hiatus, clinched at least a share of the West Division title, plus a spot in the championship game, with a 26–23 overtime win over Southern Miss on November 10. A Louisiana Tech loss to Southern Miss the following week gave UAB the outright division title. The Blazers lost 27–3 to Middle Tennessee in the final regularly-scheduled game for both teams.


2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game, Teams, Middle Tennessee
At the final week of the regular season, only two teams were in contention to clinch the East Division title, FIU and Middle Tennessee. The Panthers defeated the Blue Raiders on October 13, by three points. That would become the Blue Raiders first loss in conference play. FIU lead the division until their first conference loss against Florida Atlantic, which lead to them and Middle Tennessee to become tie for first place in the East. Both teams continued to win in conference play. For FIU to be crown winners of the division, they would have to win against Marshall, the last game of the Panthers season. The Thundering Herd upset the Panthers 28–25, which clinched Middle Tennessee the winners of the East.


2018 Conference USA Football Championship Game, Teams, Middle Tennessee vs. UAB series history
This match up will be the 7th all time meeting against the Blazers and Blue Raiders. They last played each other the week before the game on November 24. Middle Tennessee defeated UAB, the winner of the West Division, 27–3. The win secured the Blue Raiders spot to host the 2018 conference title game. After the November 24 match up, Middle Tennessee broke the tie against UAB, and now leads the all-time series 4–3.


2018 Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2018 Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for Conference USA for the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was held from March 7–10, 2018, in Frisco, Texas, at the Ford Center at The Star. In the first round and quarterfinals, two games were played simultaneously within the same arena, with the courts separated by a curtain.


2018 Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament
The tournament was won by Marshall, who defeated Western Kentucky in the conference title game, earning the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, their first Conference USA Tournament title.


2018 Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
Only 12 conference teams were eligible for the tournament. The top four teams receive a bye to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.


2018 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2018 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament (known as the 2018 Air Force Reserve Men's Soccer Championship for sponsorship purposes) was the 24th edition of the tournament. Kentucky received Conference USA's automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship by winning the final match over Charlotte by a score of 1–0.


2018 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament, Seeding
The top seven programs based on conference record will qualify for the CUSA Tournament.


2018 Conference USA Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2018 Conference USA Women's Basketball Tournament was a postseason women's basketball tournament for the Conference USA held at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, from March 7 through March 10, 2018. Western Kentucky won their 3rd Conference USA tournament earns an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament.


2018 Conference USA Women's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
The top twelve teams will qualify for the tournament. Teams will be seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.


2018 Conference USA Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2018 Conference USA Women's Soccer Tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for Conference USA held from October 31 through November 4, 2018. The seven-match tournament took place at Old Dominion Soccer Complex in Norfolk, Virginia. The eight-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the North Texas Mean Green, who defended their title after defeating the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in the final. The conference championship was the third for the North Texas women's soccer program, all three of which have come under the direction of head coach John Hedlund.


2018 Conference USA Women's Soccer Tournament, All-Tournament Team
Note: Offensive MVP shown in bold, defensive MVP shown in italics.


2018 Conference USA football season
The 2018 Conference USA football season is the 23rd season of Conference USA football and part of the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season will begin on August 25 and will end on November 24. This will be the fourth season under realignment that took place in 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season which added the 14 member Charlotte from the Atlantic 10 Conference. C-USA is a "Group of Five" conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the American Athletic Conference, the Mid–American Conference, the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference. The entire schedule was released on January 23.


2018 Conference USA football season
The Conference consists of 14 members. The Conference USA Football Championship game will be played on December 1.


2018 Conference USA football season, Preseason, Media predictions
The 2018 preseason media football poll was released on July 17.


2018 Conference USA football season, Head coaches
Note: All stats shown are before the beginning of the season.


2018 Conference USA football season, Schedule, Regular season, Week Fourteen
This game was added after both teams lost a game due to being canceled by Hurricane Florence. Virginia Tech was to play East Carolina while Marshall was to play South Carolina.


2018 Conference USA football season, Postseason, Bowl games
Bowls based on contractual tie-ins. Actual bowls attended by C-USA members may vary and will be announced following the regular season.


2018 Connacht Senior Football Championship
The 2018 Connacht Senior Football Championship was the 119th installment of the annual Connacht Senior Football Championship organised by Connacht GAA. It is one of the four provincial competitions of the 2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Unlike previous seasons, where the Connacht champions earned a place in the quarter-finals, this year's winners advanced to the new "All-Ireland Super 8s".


2018 Connacht Senior Football Championship
The draw for the Connacht Championship was made on 19 October 2017. Details on dates for the fixtures were announced on 31 October 2017.


2018 Connacht Senior Football Championship
The winners receive the J. J. Nestor Cup, named after J. J. Nestor of Quinaltagh, County Galway. Galway were the winners of the championship, defeating Roscommon in the final.


2018 Connacht Senior Football Championship, Teams
The Connacht championship is contested by the five counties in the Irish province of Connacht plus London and New York. Sligo are the only team to come into the new season under a new manager, with Cathal Corey having replaced Niall Carew. In December 2017, Corey appointed Kevin McDonnell as the new Sligo captain. Roscommon and Galway likewise come into the competition under new captains. Kevin McStay appointed Conor Devaney in place of Ciaráin Murtagh during the winter break, while Damien Comer was named as the new Tribesmen skipper for their league campaign, replacing Gary O'Donnell. New York named Tom Cunniffe, a former All-Ireland finalist with Mayo, as their captain.


2018 Connecticut Attorney General election
The 2018 Connecticut Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Connecticut.


2018 Connecticut Attorney General election
Incumbent Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen did not seek re-election. Democratic nominee and state representative William Tong defeated Republican nominee Susan Hatfield.


2018 Connecticut Attorney General election, Democratic primary
On August 14, 2018, State representative William Tong won the Democratic primary, defeating US attorney Chris Mattei and state senator Paul Doyle.