The 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games - Impacts Before, During , and After the Commonwealth Games

Contents

1.0        Introduction        2

2.0        Economic Impacts        2

3.0        Social Impacts        4

4.0        Environmental        5

5.0        Conclusion        6

6.0        Reference List        6

1. Introduction

In 2018 a major multi-national and multi-sport event, The Commonwealth Games will be held on the Gold Coast.   The games will have economic, social and environmental impacts on the city.  These will be caused by a wide range of activities and facts including: the construction of sporting facilities and hotels, a substantial peak in visitor numbers from a wide range of countries during the event itself and over the longer term an increased profile in the world leading to higher general visitor numbers.  There may be other impacts caused by the provision of additional infrastructure and the acquisition of capabilities and experience by the people of the Gold Coast.  This paper is an initial impact assessment and it should not be assumed that the list of the causes of impact provided is comprehensive; more detailed studies should involve a serious attempt to define the broadest possible range of the causes of impacts on the gold Coast to inform a full impact assessment.  

Impacts caused by the activities and facts identified can be positive and negative.  Indeed it needs to be understood that some may consider an impact positive and others may consider that same impact negative.  Political, social, environmental and even economic perspectives influence such choices and interpretations.  

This report is an initial examination of the impacts and it is limited to those activities that appear at this stage to be those likely to be the most influential.  To provide structure to the understanding of the impacts the report has focused on two main taxonomies of impacts.  The first is type based: social, economic and environmental.  The second is time based: before, during and after the event.  

The three primary causes of impact to be discussed have been selected on the basis that each one may be more apparent before, during or after the event.  Impacts will for convenience be define as positive or negative.  It will also be considered how directly or indirectly any impacts may manifest themselves.

2.0        Economic Impacts

The economic impact of the 2018 games can be measured by the change they stimulate in economic indicators such as: economic activity (for example Gross Domestic Product), inflation (including construction or consumer inflation) etc.   So to consider the impact on the economy there needs to be consideration of how activities and facts caused by the games will impact such economic indicators.