WELCOME TO 2018, IT’S THE YEAR OF THE GOLD COAST

GOOD morning, Gold Coast — how are you feeling?

In part the answer will depend on what time you finished up your New Year’s celebrations last night and how enthusiastically you marked the occasion.

But once the dust clears, the predominant feeling you should have is excitement.

Not only is this day one of 2018, it is also 93 days out from the biggest event this city has ever hosted.

But the looming Commonwealth Games fortnight in April is not the only reason city leaders including Mayor Tom Tate and Gold Coast Tourism chairman Paul Donovan are buzzing – or as Mr Donovan says in this morning’s Bulletin, when he looks at the Gold Coast in 2018, he’s not looking at a glass half full, he’s looking at a glass full right to the top.

The Games – and the 1.5 billion viewers it will attract – are certainly a big part of the reason.

But there is so much more across so many sectors coming together at once in the now sixth biggest city in Australia and certainly its fastest growing.

It is no wonder Cr Tate, Mr Donovan, entertainment king Billy Cross and the ‘Minister for the Gold Coast’ Kate Jones are all frothing and throwing around phrases such as it’s the Gold Coast’s ‘time to shine’.

The year will again kick off with the race horse sales which stop a nation, the Magic Millions. The star-studded week continues to get more impressive under the stewardship of owners Katie Page and husband Gerry Harvey.

By March, the new cultural precinct’s first stage will be unveiled. The same month heralds the bar literally being raised for hospitality with the launch of The Star’s 19th floor restaurant and lounge on the roof of its new six-star hotel The Darling.

Things won’t slow down after the Games in the first half of April.

A month later is the scheduled launch of the country’s first TopGolf site, a $30 million new entertainment attraction next door to Village Roadshow’s MovieWorld. Let’s not forget, MovieWorld unveiled the fastest and biggest rollercoaster in the southern hemisphere last year, the

$30 million Hypercoaster.

May on the Gold Coast is also now home to Australian TV’s night of nights, the Logies. Tick that box for the next four years (sorry Melbourne).

The list of things to look forward to in 2018 is long and varied, and that’s without mentioning staples such as the V8 Supercars weekend and Blues on Broadbeach or new Cross Promotions mega music festival Sand Tunes, expected to draw 35,000 to Coolangatta’s beach in December.

The Gold Coast has long ticked the box as the tourism and construction capital but extra strings to its bow are growing apace and giving it layers it has never had before.

The city is no longer just a beachside town. It is adding to its depth economically, socially and culturally – and the outlook is no longer just a glass half full, it’s a glass that is positively overflowing.