Basseterre, St. Kitts: Australia's Gold Coast will host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, winning the vote on Friday as delegates opted for its ready-made facilities ahead of the ambitious development plans of the Sri Lankan city of Hambantota.
The 70 members of the Commonwealth Games Federation meeting in this Caribbean nation voted 43-27 to award the 21st edition of the games to Australia for the fifth time, denying Sri Lanka's hopes of hosting its first.
The strength of Gold Coast's bid was its access to existing sporting facilities and good infrastructure, while Hambantota, in an area devastated by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, promised new stadiums, an international airport and other infrastructure by 2016.
"The hard work has paid off," said Anna Bligh, Queensland's premier. "The Commonwealth Games is one of the most significant sporting games in the world."
About 90 kilometres south of Brisbane and with a population of around 540,000, Gold Coast is the first regional Australian city to host the games, following the state capitals of Sydney in 1938, Perth in 1962, Brisbane in 1982 and Melbourne in 2006.
