Gold Coast to host 2018 Commonwealth Games

Australia's Gold Coast has been chosen to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the event's governing body said in St Kitts and Nevis on Friday.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) opted for Gold Coast by a 43-27 margin over its only rival, the Sri Lankan city of Hambantota.

The subtropical beachside region of Queensland will bring the Games to Australia for a fifth time, after Sydney in 1938, Perth (1962), Brisbane (1982) and Melbourne (2006).

"We've done a lot of hard work and it was very clear earlier in the week that there were a lot delegates wanting to support Hambantota," a jubilant Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said. "It's been a very, very close vote.

"There was a good chance that we weren't going to make it. We had seven (presentation) rehearsals, we've lobbied everybody, people have had jet-lag all week.

"At the end of all that, the hard work has paid off. I am so proud of this team, I am so proud of the Gold Coast and I am so proud of being a Queenslander tonight."

The Gold Coast bid represented the safer of the two with the CGF still smarting from the public relations disaster that surrounded the Delhi Games last year when last-minute government intervention was required to clean up filthy facilities and dangerous infrastructure.

Many top athletes such as Jamaica's multiple Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt skipped the 2010 Games because the timing did not fit their schedules, while other athletes stayed away because of security concerns which proved unfounded.

The 2014 Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.