Oz aims to build a buzz minus Bolt
THE sports-mad Aussies are guaranteed to embrace next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. But can they really match Glasgow’s all-time record of 1.2million tickets sold? And can they do it without the bumper draw of Usain Bolt?
Gold Coast 2018 chief executive Mark Peters definitely sounds confident about his ability to attract the world’s very best athletes — excepting the soon-toretire Bolt — to this temperate stretch of the Australian coast.
Slightly tougher will be convincing locals that the likes of David Rudisha, Kirani James and Yohan Blake — not to mention Scotland’s Laura Muir — deserve their undivided attention.
‘We are sport crazy but, you know, we’ve got four football codes,’ Peters told Sportsmail. ‘So part of our strategy is to create heroes and educate people.
‘When you look at some of those sports in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, there are incredible athletes there. So we’re working with the CGF, Team Scotland, Team England, all the associations, asking them to project their stars.
‘There’s a rivalry with England because, in Glasgow, they beat us in the medal table. So there’s an interesting little dialogue playing out there and the English have been fantastic about it, getting right in there. Of course, New Zealand are saying to us: “Forget the Poms — we’re coming to get you!” So it’s great.
‘Scotland’s best away Games was in Melbourne and they had a great Games in 2014. That rivalry, that banter, it’s going to be great. But the Australian public have to know how good these athletes are.
‘Most of our great athletes are overseas competing all the time. You never hear about them unless they win gold at the Olympics or World Championships — or at a Commonwealth Games.
‘A big part of our job in the next 12 months is promoting the stories around the remarkable athletes who will be competing here.’
Bolt’s decision to retire after the World Championships in London this year is destined to have an impact on athletics for years to come. The greatest sprinter of all time has been carrying his sport single-handedly through some troubling times.
He may well be on the Gold Coast for the Games, in some role other than competing. Even without him, though, the early signs are that the fields will be strong enough to add a little lustre to any medals won.
Peters said the decision to pitch the games around Easter was key.
‘We consulted with the IAAF, with individual athletes and their managers,’ he said. ‘Track and field is pivotal. And we want the great Caribbean runners, the brilliant Team Scotland and Team England athletes, the African greats all to come.
‘The consensus was this was the best time. It’s before the Diamond League, which is where a lot of those superstars earn most of their money.
‘It’s going to be the first major Games post-Bolt, so we’ll see the next group of stars coming through.
‘For Australia, these Games are particularly important as we don’t have any other championships short of an Olympics or World Championships.
‘So many of our young athletes get their first taste of an international multi-sport event at the Commonwealth Games.
‘We’ve got an exciting group of young track-and-field athletes coming through, who didn’t quite medal in Rio but will excel in front of family and friends. They will generate real competition between the UK, Africa and Caribbean athletes.
‘But we’re constantly talking to federations and athletes — and we’ll have a presence in London at the World Championships. It’s saying to them: “This is an opportunity to be on the world stage and enhance your career”.’
On the introduction of quotas, with the number of competitors limited to 6,500, Peters added: ‘One of the big expenses is the (athletes) village. It’s a challenge for regional cities, how to house all the competitors.
‘That’s the great challenge for the movement, particularly if we want Africa, the Caribbean or Asia to be hosting in future.’
Everyone involved in Gold Coast 2018 constantly references the success of three years ago, Peters admitting: ‘If you’re sitting here in Australia, you inevitably think: “Glasgow? That’s Celtic v Rangers”.
‘Through the Games, when you pay more attention, you find there’s a whole other side of Glasgow.
‘To get there and see the enthusiasm of the volunteers, the friendliness from all the people, everyone went away from Glasgow feeling good about the place. That’s what we want to duplicate.’