Our media producers Tom Ellis and Liam Flint have arrived on the Gold Coast, Australia, ready to report on the 2018 Commonwealth Games. From 4-15 April, over 6,600 athletes and team officials from 70 nations and territories will gather for 11 days of world class sporting action across 18 sports.
"One word to describe arriving in the Gold Coast is contrast! Our reward for powering through a long twenty-hour flight was the heat that greeted us, a welcome break from the threat of cold and snow in the UK! There is a real buzz around the Gold Coast as everyone prepares to welcome athletes from around the Commonwealth. Our Australian education has already begun, in the form of an Australian Football league (AFL) game at the Gabba, still no idea what was going on. As teams and fans steadily stream into this idyllic setting, we are eagerly anticipating the start of the Games and hearing some powerful athlete stories!" Liam Flint
"With temperatures pushing 30 degrees and 70km of coastline, the Gold Coast makes for a warm welcome following the recent 'Beast from the East’ snow storm we experienced in Britain. We spent our first day in Queensland testing out the newly installed tramline, top-notch media facilities, and yes we did make it down onto the beach, just for a little look! On our first evening we drove an hour or so up the road to the Gabba in Brisbane for a real taste of Oz – an AFL game between Brisbane Lions and Melbourne Demons. No mention of ball tampering this time around though.
I've already noticed the Church seems to have a strong presence on the Gold Coast, and we look forward to joining 3000 people at an Easter celebration organised by Beyond Gold - a partnership between local churches to serve and love the city during the Games. A wonderful statment of unity we can only hope to see spill over into the next couple of weeks!" Tom Ellis