There are still references to cricket ball-tampering in the Australian newspapers, but they have been overtaken on the front pages by an enthusiastic embrace of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, which present a timely opportunity to repair an international sporting reputation coarsened by sandpaper in recent days.

Commonwealth Games 2018: 10 things to look out for on the Gold Coast Read more

Gold Coast is a city of 640,000 people that stretches 35 miles (57km) down Australia’s east coast, along golden sandy beaches populated mainly by surfers and holidaymakers. Like the rest of the country, the people here love sport in every shape and form but they have not yet reached feverish levels of excitement about an event increasingly fighting to prove its sporting and cultural relevance.

By the same token, there is no obvious public resistance to staging the Games, no large-scale protests as there were before Australia last played host, in Melbourne in 2006. Inevitably once the live action – featuring more than 6,600 athletes and officials in 19 different sports – begins with the women’s triathlon on Thursday morning, a thirst for medals will take over. Particularly as the hometown athlete Ashleigh Gentle, the world number two in triathlon, could claim the first gold of the Games for the host nation.

Temporary stages on the city’s promenades and beaches have been showcasing dancing and singing by young local performers throughout the day while volunteers decked in bright yellow and green shirts excitedly point visitors in the right direction. Local businesses are reaping the benefits of a projected influx of more than 600,000 people for the Games. Most of the bars are operating with extended opening hours for the next 12 days, while some hotels and Airbnb hosts have increased their nightly rates by 150%. Even car park owners have been taking their slice of the pie, with overnight rates increased by up to 400% at some locations.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest People walk along a Gold Coast beach. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

A few miles away from the main hub of the Games, the double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee was announced as the flag bearer for Team England. The triathlete, who competes against his brother Jonny, is one of the hot favourites for gold among home nation athletes. Alongside Max Whitlock, Adam Peaty, Dina Asher-Smith and Tom Daley, he is one of several established household names hoping to bring silverware back to Britain.

Brownlee attended an unveiling ceremony at a high school on the Gold Coast on Tuesday, where he appeared alongside Mr Larry, teacher of the school’s indigenous art programme. He is the designer of the pattern on England’s opening ceremony outfit. Larry’s involvement in the Games is part of a commitment to acknowledge the contribution played by the Indigenous population and the discrimination they face. Large protests marred the Melbourne Games in 2006 which, wrote Andy Fuller, a fellow at Melbourne University’s Asia Institute, “showed that the city prioritised its branding and image as a sports city rather than a city that had come to terms with its Indigenous history and that was inclusive of a range of dissenting voices”.

The approach to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games four years ago was dominated by Usain Bolt making apparently disparaging comments about rainy grey skies, viewed by many as an affront to the hosts. There can be few complaints about the weather here, even if the 27C sunshine is occasionally interrupted by short, sharp downpours. But the buildup has not been controversy-free. The front page of the Courier Mail, the local newspaper for Brisbane, the largest city in Queensland, screamed “Sins and Needles” in reference to syringes found in the athletes’ village close to where the Indian team are staying.

The Indian boxing team’s doctor was later “strongly reprimanded” by the Commonwealth Games Federation court for breaching the no-needle policy and injecting an unnamed Indian team boxer with vitamins in the athletes’ village. He had left needles in the room while he went to obtain bins for the disposal of the needles, he says.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Alistair Brownlee poses during a Team England media opportunity ahead of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Photograph: Mark Metcalfe

Confusion surrounded reports in the Mauritius media detailing claims that an athlete from the country had been subjected to “indecent acts” by the chef de mission, Kaysee Teeroovengadum, since arriving in Australia. The report alleged she had been encouraged not to make an official complaint until after the Games. Queensland police promised to investigate.

A spokesman for the Commonwealth Games Federation said: “The chief executive officer of the Commonwealth Games Federation has been made aware through media representatives of purported allegations [of an indecent assault involving a Commonwealth Games delegate]; however, there has been no reporting through the established village processes.”

The Games will next travel to Birmingham in 2022, where reaction to winning the bid has been mixed. Some local people have suggested it is a vanity project and that it is irresponsible to spend more than £700,000 of public money on a sporting event when the cash-strapped council cannot, for instance, organise regular and reliable bin collections.

Others suggest the Commonwealth is an outdated symbol of British imperialism that is no longer taken seriously by individual athletes. David Grevemberg, chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation, disagrees. “I think people still care about the Commonwealth,” he said. “They have a real admiration for leaders of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty, Mahatma Gandhi, Bob Marley and the common principles of duty, service and sacrifice. They admire and acknowledge the history, heritage and tradition, the good, the bad and the ugly.”

After 12 days that have focused minds firmly on the bad and ugly side of Australian sport as a result of the antics of the country’s cricket team, it is to be hoped that the Commonwealth Games can put the emphasis back on the good.