The Economic Impact of the 2018 Commonwealth Games: A Business Report

This report provides an economic analysis of the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia. It examines the event's projected economic benefits, including increased tourism, job creation, and infrastructure development, estimating a profit of $2 billion. The report also highlights the significant costs associated with hosting the games, such as taxpayer expenses, athlete accommodations, and infrastructure investments, which are estimated to be $2.027 billion. The analysis compares the potential gains with the financial risks and draws comparisons with previous Commonwealth Games, such as those held in Glasgow and Sydney, to assess the validity of the economic projections. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for efficient resource allocation, accountability, and the utilization of opportunities to maximize revenue, while also acknowledging the potential challenges for taxpayers and small entrepreneurs.

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The commonwealth games of the year 2018, officially introduced to us as XXI
Commonwealth games refers to an international combined sports event for the member states of the
common wealth, and the event is expected to take place in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
between 4th and 15th of April 2018.The gold coast 2018 Commonwealth games is the biggest event
for sporting that will be seen by Australia in this decade and presumably the biggest that Australia
has ever seen in history. A variety of activities will take place including sports, arts and cultural
events in the country and across the state with the inclusion of Cairns, Brisbane, and Townsville. The
total attendance in these activities is approximately 1.5 million spectators, and it will be watched via
the TV by an approximate of 1.5 billion people. This event is expected to give attraction to more than
100 thousand visitors and also 6,600 athletes together with the team officials, the 70 member
countries and other territories. An approximate of 15,000 volunteers are expected to mark this event
memorable to them (Chappelet, 2012, pg. 99).The number of visitors who will be in the city is
expected to be about five times more than that which come for the supercars and 606 times that of
those who come for the blue beach Festivals (Byrne, 2014, pg. 77).
Economic benefits that are expected to be realized in Gold coast after the commonwealth
games in 2018 are numerous. About eight hundred workers are being recruited, and the tickets are
also being issued for the event that will take place in Australia. The 2018 Commonwealth games
will, without doubts bring about a variety of benefits to the coastal strip and also the field. The CEO
of the games reported that the games are expected to give an excessive profit of $2 billion in that
country(Byrne, 2014, pg. 128).The economic and social gains are supposed to go beyond the latter
considering the indirect expenditure like the extension of the Gold Coast Light Rail Stage which is
supposed to plough back $ 420 million, the upgrade of roads scheduled to give a profit of about $
160.7 million, the development of the infrastructure and the other known diversifiers of the economy
including Health and Carrera development. The event will lead to the development of
Commonwealth inspired projects in the areas of their sustainability and good accessibility. The right

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engagement will finally build the reputation or else the real name of the city of Gold Coast shortly
(Mules, 2013 pg. 94).
The tourism sector will also have benefits from this in that these games are expected to
inspire the interstate and international holidaymakers to make their visit to Queensland as the games
go on or even after the games and give an exploration of what the state has to offer out to them. The
expansion of the health and knowledge sector will create thousands of jobs in the health sector, the
education and service ministries which will lead to the diversification of the economy of the region
resulting to the reduction in reliance on the tourism industry (Byrne, 2014, pg. 98).On the other side,
there are the costs that are to be incurred by Gold Coast. Reports show that there is nothing to
celebrate. The people of the Queensland will run at the cost of approximately $300,000 per athlete
for hosting the commonwealth games of the year 2018.An approximate of 65,000 athletes will be in
the competition, and this is budgeted to cost the country about $ 2 billion. The taxpayers are meant to
pay the flying expenses for the athletes together with their officials from every corner of the world
where the countries involved are member states of the Commonwealth to Gold Coast, give them food
for the twelve days stay in the country, accommodate them and also provide them with security,
transport and medical services (Chappelet, 2012, pg. 159).The successful bid that was placed last
year envisaged that the games would cost about $1.075 billion for them to run in addition to some $
917 million which will be spent on capital investment which includes the games village and the
sporting facilities. In addition to the $ 11 million on the bid placed, there was the allocation of $ 9.17
million by the former Bling government toward the preparation for the event. The 2017/2018
financial year is forecasted to set aside an approximate of $ 51.3 million to cater for the games hence
giving rise to $ 205 million by the fiscal year 2014/2015 and almost 600 million by the fiscal year
2017/2018 (Wicker& Sotiriadou, 2013 pg. 156).
Generally, the state is expected to pump in $ 1.12 billion for it to stage the event whereby this
amount is about or else the same as the Gold Coast's biggest project ever in infrastructure when put

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in one place: the rail line heading to Brisbane, the bypass of Tugun, the stadium of Metricon and the
skilled park. These figures come about when the country`s budget is a deficit of $ 2.8 billion and it is
what the government in the meantime is struggling to reduce given that it is also in a debt of $ 65
billion (Harris, 2013 pg. 176).The event is known or else expected to change lives of the country
men, in the same manner, those of 1982 Commonwealth games and the world expo of the year 1988
did to the Brisbane city. Hypes and exaggerations about this event have been hovering around giving
an excellent picture of gains which do not exist. The promises that are written everywhere in social
media will not be met one after the other as the sports academic Richard Cushman points out (Preuss,
2014, pg. 114). Comparing to the performance of the last commonwealth games in Sydney which did
not perform as expected .There was an expectation of a boom in the tourism sector but it fell short.
The same case applied to the sporting industry since there were no increases as anticipated by many.
Earlier claims that each athlete would cost the country $ 3 million was all like games since the
correct figures from the latest reports show that each player will cost the state an approximate of $
300 million (Mules, 2013 pg. 134).
Given that the Commonwealth games will take place and that preparation for them are
underway, they will mark the greatest multi sporting competition ever held on the Gold coast with an
expectation of over 1.5 million spectators in the site and 1.5 billion viewers watching them on
televisions around the globe. These games will be contested in eighteen venues in Brisbane, Cairns,
the Gold Coast and Townsville and the government of the Queensland is giving its commitment to
improving the infrastructure by pumping in an outstanding $ 10 billion toward that infrastructure
which includes the projects that are Commonwealth games related among many others. Concerning
the state budget report, the new stadium zone in Townsville is meant to cost about $ 315 million is
included in the enormous expenditure of the $ 1.8 billion to be used in the development of Gold
university hospital (Preuss, 2014, pg. 194).

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The aggregate cost is estimated to be about $ 2.027 billion .This figure is expected to be
offset by the operating revenues of about $272 million. There has been however the emergence of
the rising cost of the multisport competitions under the worldwide stage whereby countries pull out
of the organization hence causing the current economic hiccups (Harvey et al, 2014, pg.173).In many
countries, the potential benefits of hosting these events does not outweigh the costs of hosting the
same. Good examples of such cases include the one for Guadalajara, Mexico whereby the country
hosted the 2017 FINA global aquatic championships and after that facing much economic crisis. The
2019 edition of the same championships is under questioning since the government of Gwangju city
withdrew its financial aid (Lynch & Jensen, 2013 pg. 197).On another different but as well a
comparable scale, a study that was conducted just after the 2014 commonwealth games in Glasgow
showed that in total the games ploughed back about € 1.1 which is about $ 1.2 billion, that amount in
the nationals gross value of the Scotland country (the host) that amount was just equal to what the
cost of any other project could have brought to the nation (Harvey et al., 2014, pg.198).
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the Commonwealth games for 2018 have a possibility of leaving good
business foundations and get back high gains in Gold Coast, the taxpayers will have a hard time in
trying to cope up with the increase in taxes and the raised standards of living. At long run, the
tourism sector might come to acquire gains, but there is need to put much effort in trying to find new
ways of how to get back profits. The government should also cut unnecessary expenditure on the
same and allow the small entrepreneurs to maximize their opportunities in the event. The
government should also ensure that there is accountability and that the infrastructure that is to be
developed is made in the most efficient manner possible. Given that every favorable opportunity for
making some more revenue is utilized, there is a possibility of getting some more revenue.

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Work cited
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the Commonwealth Games Confederacy and Commonwealth Games have nation 15(4),
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Chappelet, J.L., 2012. Gigantic sporting event treasures: a multi-layered concept. 34, p.45.
Harris, R., 2013. An Investigation of the Association between Large-Scale Sporting Proceedings and
Schooling for Maintainable Progress: The Situation of Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth
Games. The International periodical of the History of Sport, 23(13), p.3017-3047.
Harvey, J., Eime, R. and Payne, W., 2014. Competence of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, 61(7),
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Lynch, P.G., and Jensen, R.C., 2013. The financial outcomes of XII Commonwealth Games in the
Brisbane territory. City Policy and Investigation, 5 (9), pp.32-52.
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Preuss, H., 2014. The money related result of guests at major multi-sports occasions. European
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Wicker, P. and Sotiriadou, P., 2013. The Trickle-Down Consequence: what people bunches pick up
from holding sporting games occasions? International Periodical of Event Organization
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