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A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Saturday, November 12, 2011
Sri Lanka’s Multi-Million Rupee Bid Fails
Saturday, November 12, 2011- Australia’s Gold Coast wins vote to host 2018 Commonwealth Games
By Dinouk Colombage
Australians celebrating Gold Coast victory
Sri Lanka’s multi-million rupee bid to secure the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Hambantotoa ended in failure early last morning. The vote in St. Kitts and Nevis to select the host city saw Sri Lanka wanting as they managed to gain only 27 votes from a total of 71 Commonwealth members. Gold Coast in Australia secured 43 votes and will now have the task of hosting the games in seven years time.
Sri Lanka’s failure to secure the games comes despite the government and the organising committee pouring in millions of rupees in the lead up to the vote. It has been estimated that between Rs. 300 million and Rs. 400 million was invested in Sri Lanka’s bid process.
A delegation numbering nearly a hundred was dispatched to St. Kitts earlier this week to make the final push in the bid for the Games. The delegation included a variety of public figures including legendary spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan and former beauty queen Anarkali Akarsha.
Despite the loss Central Bank governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, has pledged to continue the development of the southern town of Hambantota. “We will make good our promise to rejuvenate the region regardless of this outcome,” he told media in Australia.
Sri Lanka’s bid to secure the rights to host the Games was jolted early on when they failed to show up in New Delhi last year for a meeting with the Games’ governing body. With three months to go before they were to hand over the final bid to the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Sports Ministry frantically employed the services of British Public Relations firm ‘Pmp Legacy’. They were tasked with the duty of creating and promoting the bid for Hambantota 2018.
Support for the games was however lacking locally with many people fearing that awarding such an event to the island would leave the country in financial strife. Furthermore, despite the large amount of money sunk into the bid process no event was prepared for the announcement of the results of the final vote. In contrast the Gold Coast had an entire morning prepared, including a concert, to welcome the announcement.
Sri Lanka’s failure to secure the games comes despite the government and the organising committee pouring in millions of rupees in the lead up to the vote. It has been estimated that between Rs. 300 million and Rs. 400 million was invested in Sri Lanka’s bid process.
A delegation numbering nearly a hundred was dispatched to St. Kitts earlier this week to make the final push in the bid for the Games. The delegation included a variety of public figures including legendary spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan and former beauty queen Anarkali Akarsha.
Despite the loss Central Bank governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, has pledged to continue the development of the southern town of Hambantota. “We will make good our promise to rejuvenate the region regardless of this outcome,” he told media in Australia.
Sri Lanka’s bid to secure the rights to host the Games was jolted early on when they failed to show up in New Delhi last year for a meeting with the Games’ governing body. With three months to go before they were to hand over the final bid to the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Sports Ministry frantically employed the services of British Public Relations firm ‘Pmp Legacy’. They were tasked with the duty of creating and promoting the bid for Hambantota 2018.
Support for the games was however lacking locally with many people fearing that awarding such an event to the island would leave the country in financial strife. Furthermore, despite the large amount of money sunk into the bid process no event was prepared for the announcement of the results of the final vote. In contrast the Gold Coast had an entire morning prepared, including a concert, to welcome the announcement.
