Gold Coast defeats Hambantota to host 2018 Commonwealth Games

At a Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis Friday - Gold Coast, Australia was elected to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.  The Queensland bid defeated the only other candidate, Hambantota, Sri Lanka to win the honour.  The vote count was 43 to 27.

Gold Coast will hold the Games in April, 2018.

CGF members watched final presentations from both bids earlier in the day but it has been widely speculated that Gold Coast has been leading the 2018 campaign from the start.  Gold Coast had been the only bidder until Hambantota threw up it's hand just hours before the bid deadline last year.

Gold Coast claims that 70% of the venues are already constructed and that they are "ready to shine".  Hambantota, initially described as a "fishing village" that was devestated by the 2004 tsunami where thousands died locally, outlined broad and aggressive plans for the future development of the region.

During the presentation, Gold Coast emphasized that their bid was a low risk option and they were ready to contribute the the CGF.  In contrast, Hambantota described that the Games would help the rebuilding of their region after a long war and tsunami - and stressed that the project would be "on time and on budget."

The next Commonwealth Games will be staged 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Watch GamesBids.com for more on this developing story.