HOW TO PLAY THE GAMES

SEVEN days to go. Seven days until the spotlight is firmly on the Gold Coast, showing an estimated 1.5 billion people in Commonwealth countries around the globe just what makes our city in the sun so special.

Naturally, we have to hope the weather is kind. There is not much any of us can do about that.

But Gold Coasters can do an enormous amount of work in making these Commonwealth Games a massive success, an amazing spectacle and the stuff lifelong memories are made of, just by turning up, cheering, and enjoying the program of sport and entertainment from one end of the city to the other.

By doing that, they become the stars of the show.

Four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and two-time Olympic 1500m champion Kieren Perkins sums up in his column in our special Games liftout today just how important the hometown crowd can be. Perkins talks about the noise generated at big events like our Games and what that means for competitors – even those splashing and kicking their way through the water.

“There is almost an energy transference to you in the water,’’ he says.

“The noise of a home Games crowd really does go right through you and it’s yours to harness and use.’’

We can’t all be there for the swimming finals, but there will be plenty of opportunities for Gold Coasters to watch and cheer on hometown heroes in a host of events across all sorts of sports, or to applaud the efforts of world champions from other Commonwealth countries, or to get right behind the underdogs who have battled their way here from countries with fewer opportunities than those we are privileged to have.

If you don’t have tickets to any of the stadiums, there are free events where you can join the crowds that will be cheering on the marathon competitors or the road race cyclists. Be part of it.