THE Gold Coast will play host to the 2018 Commonwealth Games after winning the bid from Sri Lanka's Hambantota.
Victory was sweet at ground zero for the bid decision as thousands of Gold Coast residents threw their arms skywards when the announcement they had been waiting for fell in their favour.
Bid team members jumped in the air and hugged when it was revealed they had won.
They told the crowd that the Commonwealth Games would be the biggest single event to hit the Gold Coast.
"I'm so proud of the Gold Coast and so proud to be a Queenslander."
Gold Coast locals threw all their weight behind the bid.
By 6am, at least two hours before the announcement, hundreds had gathered at the Broadwater Parklands to wait for the news.
An hour before release of the decision the crowd was in the thousands.
The mood was a little uneasy prior to the decision being revealed.
Those who had poured their energy into the Gold Coast bid waited anxiously, watching on a big screen as officials milked the moment.
"There was a bit of trepidation and worry," said Peter Hannan, the coach of world champion hurdler Sally Pearson.
"Then watching the gallons go up and the crowd go berserk was fantastic."
There were displays from Games sporting associations hoping to convert the groundswell of goodwill into junior registrations.
The final vote was 43-47 in the Gold Coast's favour as lobbying and presentations continued right up to the vote.
The Commonwealth Games is predicted to deliver $2 billion in economic benefits to the Gold Coast and about 30,000 jobs in the next seven years.
Bid team boss Mark Stockwell told goldcoast.com.au he was overjoyed with the result.
"'I want everyone on the Gold Coast to celebrate and get right behind the Commonwealth Games,'' he said.
The centrepiece of the plan is the redevelopment of Parklands into a Health and Knowledge precinct at a cost of $1 billion but several other venues will be built and other sporting facilities will be improved in the lead up to the Games.
Work could start on the Health and Knowledge precinct, which the State Government is planning to secure a private partner for, as early as 2012.
The Commonwealth Games announcement is the end of a four year journey for the Gold Coast, which set its sights on securing the event in 2008.
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