REMEMBER WHEN

CONFIDENCE was high in the Australian camp shortly before a Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) vote in Paris to decide the host country for Expo 2002.

Sources before the vote said only three or four votes “either way’’ would determine whether the Expo was held on the Gold Coast or in Manila.

Manila’s bid was dealt a blow when it was revealed its national exposition would be delayed because of construction problems.

Delegates from the 84member BIE attended a lunch at the Australian embassy before the vote.

The Australian bid, headed by World Expo ‘88 chief Sir Llew Edwards, was for a $407 million interactive technology event at Coomera, while Manila’s proposal had a “strong eco-tourism theme”.

Sir Llew and former governor-general Bill Hayden travelled to Paris, where they lobbied senior BIE delegates along with Local Government Minister Di McCauley and Gold Coast councillors Gary Baildon, David Power and Jan Grew.

The vote ultimately was tied, forcing a second round where Manila trumped Australia’s Gold Coast bid by just four votes.

The reaction from locals was furious, with the Bulletin reporting France and Switzerland had led the ambush that snatched the event from the Glitter Strip.

Meanwhile, the Gold Coast celebrated the annual Wintersun festival in Coolangatta and Tweed Heads which welcomed record crowds from across the nation who arrived to picture-perfect weather and a wide number of nostalgia events.