In a cent towards Games’

GC2018’s partners included The Star, Tafe, Optus, Griffith University, Atos, Woolworths and Longines.

Speaking to global delegates at the Trade 2018 Major Event at Broadbeach yesterday, Mr Beattie declared the Games a success, saying the benefits to the city and state’s reputation, and the enhanced skills of those involved, would prove a lasting legacy.

“We’ve now got a critical mass of people and a reputation that says we can put on good events,” he said.

“That’s a useful marketing tool because that means that all the people who have done security here, transport, tickets, commercial sponsorship, they’ve got something marketable that we can sell around the world.

“There’s a lot more major events in the world than there’s ever been — suddenly there’s a lot more events around the world where the skills we’ve developed for this event are useful and marketable and are part of an economic recovery.”

Mr Beattie said work to duplicate heavy rail, extend light rail and fix bottlenecks on local roads would be key legacies of the Games, along with a shift in the behaviour of locals towards public transport.

“The psychology of the city’s changed — the trams are packed,” he said.

“You’re changing the mentality of a city.

“Putting on an event on the Gold Coast is a nightmare. It’s a narrow strip of land with water in the middle of it. If you want to take something and say `here’s a challenge’, well that’s a challenge.”

The former Queensland premier said a less-publicised challenge of the process was working with various levels of government and other authorities, which he said “didn’t always love each other”.

“At the end of that, you grow together and you can market together,” he said.