The Gold Coast Bulletin

GREAT TO SEE CITY EMBRACE WORTHY CAUSE

- MARK PETERS

THE last week has seen an incredibly eclectic mix of media announceme­nts from the final release of tickets to the reveal of the exceptiona­l Queensland creative team behind the opening and closing ceremonies.

And while every announceme­nt makes us proud as we journey towards April 4, 2018, there was one announceme­nt this week that demonstrat­ed that this city has truly embraced the Games.

The GC2018 Charity Gala raised an incredible $358,080 for the Gold Coast Community Fund (GCCF) with the funds going to individual­s and groups in the community who need support and care. The GCCF Board are all volunteers and they work tirelessly to ensure the funding truly makes a difference in the lives of many. I was immensely proud of this announceme­nt and truly humbled by the generosity of so many people in this city.

The final major release of tickets has seen a strong response with more than 40,000 tickets sold in the first hour to take us close to the 1 million tickets sold milestone. There are still some great tickets left including athletics, rugby sevens, hockey and closing ceremony tickets. The tickets are at family-friendly prices so I urge Gold Coasters to purchase tickets and enjoy the Commonweal­th’s greatest athletes in competitio­n in your home city.

And if you’re keen on a really unique Games experience and can tackle a 5km run there is still an opportunit­y to run on the same course as our marathon runners in the Gold Run 2018. This is a once-ina-lifetime experience and is proudly the first time anything like this has ever been offered at a Commonweal­th Games. If you are interested in participat­ing you can sign up through our website gc2018.com.

Our opening and closing ceremonies planning is well under way with the announceme­nt of the creative talent leaving us in no doubt that these spectacula­r celebratio­ns will tell a wonderful story about our city, our state and our

THERE ARE STILL SOME GREAT TICKETS LEFT INCLUDING ATHLETICS, RUGBY SEVENS, HOCKEY AND THE CLOSING CEREMONY

country, to a cumulative broadcast audience of 1.5 billion people across the Commonweal­th. And according to the choreograp­hers Gold Coasters have been putting their best feet forward at auditions happening over the past six weeks with the creative leads impressed by the depth of talent and even more so by the level of enthusiasm.

With only 18 Wednesdays (it sounds sooner than 126 days) from today left until the Games I am delighted to hear an ever increasing chatter about GC2018 across all forms of media and in our community.

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