Introduction
The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG), the XXI Commonwealth Games were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018. It is the fifth time Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games. The CWG is an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Interestingly, it is the first time that a major multi-sport event achieved gender equality by having an equal number of events for males and female athletes.
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 had more than 4,400 athletes including 300 para-athletes from 71 Commonwealth Games Associations. Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 featured 19 Commonwealth sports, including beach volleyball, para triathlon and women's rugby sevens and had 275 sets of medals. The sporting events took place at 14 venues in the host city including the famous Brisbane, Cairns and Townsville.
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 were the first Commonwealth Games to take place under the presidency of Louise Martin, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). The host city Gold Coast was announced at the CGF General Assembly in Basseterre, Saint Kitts, on 11 November 2011. Gold Coast is the seventh Oceanian city and the first regional city to host the Commonwealth Games. Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 were the eighth games to be held in Oceania and the Southern Hemisphere.
Australia, the host nation, topped the medal table for the fourth time in the past five Commonwealth Games, winning the most golds (80) and most medals overall (198). England and India finished second and third respectively. Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, British Virgin Islands and Dominica each had won their first Commonwealth Games medals in Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games .
Quick Facts
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Host city | Gold Coast, Queensland |
| Country | Australia |
| Motto | Share the Dream |
| Countries Participating | 71 Commonwealth Teams |
| Events | 275 in 19 sports |
| Opening ceremony | 4 April, 2018 |
| Closing ceremony | 15 April, 2018 |
| Officially opened by | Charles, Prince of Wales |
| Athlete's Oath | Karen Murphy |
| Queen's Baton Final Runner | Sally Pearson |
| Main venue | Carrara Stadium |
| Website | GC2018.com |
Events
| Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 - Bidding Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| City | Country | Votes |
| Gold Coast City | Australia | 43 |
| Hambantota | Sri Lanka | 27 |
In February 2012, Mark Peters was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Gold Coast City 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation. The Queensland Government Minister tasked with overseeing the Games is Kate Jones.
Venues: 
The primary rationalfor Gold Coast City's successful bid was the fact that the city had 80 percent of the planned venues in place before the bidding deadline.
The vast majority of venues were located within 20-minutes driving time of the Athletes Village in Parkwood and are broadly grouped into three areas; Central Gold Coast City, North Gold Coast City and South Gold Coast City.
The only sports held outside of Gold Coast City were track cycling and the preliminary rounds of Basketball which were held in Brisbane and Cairns or Townsville respectively, along with the shooting held in Belmont.
Athletes Village:
The 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village provided accommodation and services to 6600 athletes. For the purposing of hosting the athletes, the officials 1252 permanent dwellings: 1170 one and two bedroom apartments and 82 three bedroom townhouses at Southport, Gold Coast.
Transport:
The Gold Coast light rail system, connects directly a number of the key games venues including the Gold Coast City Aquatic Centre, Broadwater Parklands and the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Center with the major accommodation centers of Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach and the Athletes Village at Parklands. In October 2015, An extension to the Gold Coast light rail system was announced , connecting the then current terminus at Gold Coast University Hospital to the railway line to Brisbane at Helensvale. The extension opened in December 2017, which was in time for the games.
71 nations competed at 2018 Commonwealth Games. Maldives were scheduled to participate, but in October 2016 they withdrew from the Commonwealth Games. The Gambia returned to the Commonwealth Games after being readmitted as Commonwealth Games Federation member on 31 March 2018.
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 Participants - Commonwealth Games Associations:
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 - Number of Athletes by Team
| Country name | Number of Participants |
|---|---|
| Anguilla | 12 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 18 |
| Australia | 474 |
| Bahamas | 31 |
| Bangladesh | 26 |
| Barbados | 45 |
| Belize | 12 |
| Bermuda | 8 |
| Botswana | 27 |
| British Virgin Islands | 10 |
| Brunei | 8 |
| Cameroon | 41 |
| Canada | 282 |
| Cayman Islands | 22 |
| Cook Islands | 18 |
| Cyprus | 47 |
| Dominica | 13 |
| England | 396 |
| Falkland Islands | 15 |
| Fiji | 97 |
| The Gambia | 6 |
| Ghana | 71 |
| Gibraltar | 22 |
| Grenada | 15 |
| Guernsey | 31 |
| Guyana | 23 |
| India | 218 |
| Isle of Man | 32 |
| Jamaica | 115 |
| Jersey | 33 |
| Kenya | 138 |
| Kiribati | 16 |
| Lesotho | 20 |
| Malawi | 20 |
| Malaysia | 178 |
| Malta | 25 |
| Mauritius | 54 |
| Montserrat | 7 |
| Mozambique | 28 |
| Namibia | 28 |
| Nauru | 16 |
| New Zealand | 253 |
| Nigeria | 90 |
| Niue | 19 |
| Norfolk Island | 18 |
| Northern Ireland | 90 |
| Pakistan | 56 |
| Papua New Guinea | 56 |
| Rwanda | 17 |
| Saint Helena | 9 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 10 |
| Saint Lucia | 13 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 20 |
| Samoa | 38 |
| Scotland | 224 |
| Seychelles | 25 |
| Sierra Leone | 25 |
| Singapore | 60 |
| Solomon Islands | 14 |
| South Africa | 196 |
| Sri Lanka | 80 |
| Swaziland | 10 |
| Tanzania | 19 |
| Tonga | 13 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 51 |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 9 |
| Tuvalu | 7 |
| Uganda | 70 |
| Vanuatu | 18 |
| Wales | 214 |
| Zambia | 38 |
| CGF Code | Country | Athletes |
|---|---|---|
| AUS | Australia | 474 |
| ENG | England | 396 |
| CAN | Canada | 282 |
| NZL | New Zealand | 253 |
| SCO | Scotland | 224 |
| IND | India | 218 |
| WAL | Wale | 214 |
| RSA | South Africa | 196 |
| MAS | Malaysia | 178 |
| KEN | Kenya | 138 |
| JAM | Jamaica | 115 |
| FIJ | Fiji | 97 |
| NGR | Nigeria | 90 |
| NIR | Northern Ireland | |
| SRI | Sri Lanka | 80 |
| GHA | Ghana | 71 |
| UGA | Uganda | 70 |
| SIN | Singapore | 60 |
| PAK | Pakistan | 56 |
| PNG | Papua New Guinea | |
| MRI | Mauritius | 54 |
| TTO | Trinidad and Tobago | 51 |
| CYP | Cyprus | 47 |
| BAR | Barbados | 45 |
| CMR | Cameroon | 41 |
| SAM | Samoa | 38 |
| ZAM | Zambia | |
| JER | Jersey | 33 |
| IOM | Isle of Man | 32 |
| BAH | Bahamas | 31 |
| GUE | Guernsey | |
| MOZ | Mozambique | 28 |
| NAM | Namibia | |
| BOT | Botswana | 27 |
| BAN | Bangladesh | 26 |
| MLT | Malta | 25 |
| SEY | Seychelles | |
| SLE | Sierra Leone | |
| GUY | Guyana | 23 |
| CAY | Cayman Islands | 22 |
| GIB | Gibraltar | |
| LES | Lesotho | 20 |
| MAW | Malawi | 20 |
| SVG | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | |
| NIU | Niue | 19 |
| TAN | Tanzania | |
| ANT | Antigua and Barbuda | 18 |
| COK | Cook Islands | |
| NFI | Norfolk Island | |
| VAN | Vanuatu | |
| RWA | Rwanda | 17 |
| KIR | Kiribati | 16 |
| NRU | Nauru | |
| FAI | Falkland Islands | 15 |
| GRN | Grenada | |
| SOL | Solomon Islands | 14 |
| DMA | Dominica | 13 |
| LCA | Saint Lucia | |
| TGA | Tonga | |
| AIA | Anguilla | 12 |
| BIZ | Belize | |
| IVB | British Virgin Islands | 10 |
| SKN | Saint Kitts and Nevis | |
| SWZ | Swaziland | |
| SHN | Saint Helena | 9 |
| TCA | Turks and Caicos Islands | |
| BER | Bermuda | 8 |
| BRU | Brunei | |
| MNT | Montserrat | 7 |
| TUV | Tuvalu | |
| GAM | The Gambia | 6 |
The regulations state 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. 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. A record 38 para events were contested at these games. On 8 March 2016, beach volleyball was announced as the 18th sport.
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.
On 7 October 2016, an announcement was made to add seven new events for women to the sport program, thus creating equal number of events for men and women. Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games marked the first time in history with a major multi-sport event having equality in terms of events. In total 275 events in 18 sports were contested.
Number of Medal Events contested in each sport
| Event | No.of Medals | |
|---|---|---|
| Aquatics | Diving | 10 |
| Swimming | 50 | |
| Athletics | 58 | |
| Badminton | 6 | |
| Basketball | 2 | |
| Beach volleyball | 2 | |
| Boxing | 16 | |
| Cycling | Mountain biking | 2 |
| Road | 4 | |
| Track | 20 | |
| Gymnastics | Artistic | 14 |
| Rhythmic | 6 | |
| Hockey | 2 | |
| Lawn bowls | 10 | |
| Netball | 1 | |
| Rugby sevens | 2 | |
| Shooting | 19 | |
| Squash | 5 | |
| Table tennis | 14 | |
| Triathlon | 5 | |
| Weightlifting | 16 | |
| Powerlifting | 4 | |
| Wrestling | 12 | |
The opening ceremony of Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games was held at Carrara Stadium in the Gold Coast, Australia, between 20:00 and 22:40 AEST, on 4 April 2018. Tickets for the ceremony started at 100 Australian dollars with half price tickets available for children. The Head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II, was represented by her son, Charles, Prince of Wales.
Parade of Nations
Following the 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. Each nation was preceded by a placard bearer carrying a sign with the country's name.
The ranking in this table is consistent with International Olympic Committee convention in its published medal tables. 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.
Key:
Host nation (Australia)
2018 Commonwealth Games medal table:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia (AUS)* | 80 | 59 | 59 | 198 |
| 2 | England (ENG) | 45 | 45 | 46 | 136 |
| 3 | India (IND) | 26 | 20 | 20 | 66 |
| 4 | Canada | 15 | 40 | 27 | 82 |
| 5 | New Zealand | 15 | 16 | 15 | 46 |
| 6 | South Africa | 13 | 11 | 13 | 37 |
| 7 | Wales | 10 | 12 | 14 | 36 |
| 8 | Scotland | 9 | 13 | 22 | 44 |
| 9 | Nigeria | 9 | 9 | 6 | 24 |
| 10 | Cyprus | 8 | 1 | 5 | 14 |
| 11 | Jamaica | 7 | 9 | 11 | 27 |
| 12 | Malaysia | 7 | 5 | 12 | 24 |
| 13 | Singapore | 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 14 | Kenya | 4 | 7 | 6 | 17 |
| 15 | Uganda | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 16 | Botswana | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 17 | Samoa | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 18 | Trinidad and Tobago | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 | Namibia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Northern Ireland | 1 | 7 | 4 | 12 |
| 21 | The Bahamas | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 22 | Papua New Guinea | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 23 | Fiji | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 24 | Pakistan | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 25 | Grenada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Bermuda | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Guyana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | British Virgin Is. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Saint Lucia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 30 | Bangladesh | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 | Sri Lanka | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 32 | Cameroon | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 33 | Dominica | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Isle of Man | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Mauritius | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Nauru | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 37 | Malta | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | Vanuatu | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 39 | Cook Islands | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 39 | Ghana | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 39 | Norfolk Island | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 39 | Seychelles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 39 | Solomon Islands | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Motto:
The official motto for the 2018 Commonwealth Games: "Share the Dream". The motto highlights 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.
Emblem:
The emblem of the 2018 Commonwealth Games: silhouette of the skyline and landscape of Gold Coast, the host city of the games.
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" is an Aboriginal term for koala.
Medals:
At a charity gala held on 4 November 2017, the medals for the games were officially unveiled. Designed by the Australian Indigenous artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins the medals were produced by the Royal Australian Mint. The design of the medals was inspired by the coastline of Gold Coast along with Indigenous culture. 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 medal lists and each measures approximately 63 millimetres in diameter. The medals weigh between 138 and 163 grams.