By Dela Ahiawor
Things are stirring! Withe the countdown to the 2018 Commonwealth Games now thinned out to just under a year away from the opening ceremony. And expectations are that the 2018 Commonwealth Games [XXI Commonwealth Games] slated for Gold Coast City, Queensland in Australia will build on the previous games experience in Glasgow, Scotland.
Assessing Gold Coast City’s infrastructure recently, Commonwealth Games Expert, Associate Professor Robert Rogerson said: “The Gold Coast Games were set to deliver a long lasting positive impact-quite different to that of 2014 Glasgow Games.” For this to be achieved, Professor Rogerson urged the architects to patronize the Games’ utmost value, which is excitement.
“Now the important point is to build excitement because this is an important part of building the event’s legacy. Legacy is both intangible as it is tangible and this can include people’s memories of the success of the event and this is something which must be built now,” he said. The Associate Professor, also the Deputy Director of the institute of Future Cities at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in Scotland visited Australia briefly early this month for talks with the Commonwealth Games Corporation and also to inspect the host city’s infrastructure.
He noted that: “Things are looking good and each games builds on the previous experience so I can see this one is well-planned, has a great idea of its legacy and this is translating through the various projects.” “What are we already seeing here is the welcoming of future events, which is something we did not do in Glasgow and this has impressed me because I think it will be quite achievable.”
The legacy of mega sporting events, like the Commonwealth Games is a complex concept, which refers to the long-term or permanent outcomes for a host city, region or state for staging such an event. These outcomes can include economic, touristic, social, physical and/or environmental benefits and are often put forward as the key rationale for bidding for and hosting of such mega events.
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Source: www.sustainabilityactive.com
