Gold Coast to host Commonwealth Games – Public money wasted for propaganda to get it to Hambantota

SATURDAY, 12 NOVEMBER 2011

Gold Coast has won the rights to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games - and the $1.1bn debt that comes with it - with a victory over Hambantota in Sri Lanka. The decision was made at a meeting of the Commonwealth Games Federation on the Caribbean island of St Kitts. Gold Coast, in south east Queensland, won by 43 votes to 27.

Sri Lanka government spent Rs.400 million for one advertising firm to launch a propaganda project to get the Games to Hambantota in Sri Lanka and a group of 250, most of them without any connection to sports including Anarkali Akasha and three chefs, had gone to St Kitts to influence the voting on behalf of Sri Lanka. More than Rs.200,000 had to be spent for each person participating in this propaganda gimmick. The Gold Coast was hot favourite and the government spent public money in billions to promote an event that would never be successful and would not bring any benefit to Sri Lanka.

A report issued about a month ago by the Commonwealth had stated that Sri Lanka was not a secure place to hold the Games. The attempt to get Commonwealth Games to Hambantota is also marked as an instance that the power struggle among Rajapaksas came to the fore. It is no secret that Mr. Basil Rajapaksa was not in favour of getting the Games to Sri Lanka.

Australia has hosted the games four times previously in the event's 80-year history. It has hosted the Games at Sydney in 1938, at Perth in 1962, Brisbane in 1982 and Melbourne in 2006.  Sri Lanka was bidding to host the games for the first time. The Games ahs been held in Asia twice, 1988 at Kuala Lumpur in  Malaysia and in New Delhi in 2010.

Meanwhile, JVP Parliamentrian Vijithe Herath speaking at a media meeting yesterday (11th) said the government was preparing to spend Rs.265000 million for the Games and this would exceed 25% of the expected income of the government for 2012 he pointed out. He said Rs.400 million has been already spent for propaganda to get the Commonwealth Games to Hambantota.