Best of luck Hambantota

All of the Commonwealth will today focus on the crucial vote for the host of 2018 Commonwealth Games with Sri Lankan contingent publicly and personally upbeat about candidate city Hambantota’s chances.

Sri Lanka’s spirited southern port city Hambantota and Australia’s Gold Coast need minimum 36 votes out of 71 Commonwealth Games Associations at the CGF General Assembly today at St. Kitts and Nevis to win much publicised and equally controversial bids. Both candidate cities have expressed confidence of their chances.

Passionate local officials who had been directly engaged in the preparation of and build up to today’s bid predicted to the Daily FT yesterday that Sri Lanka will secure 41 votes thereby winning the bid that requires multi-billion dollar investment to hold the Games. Some estimates put the cost as $ 1.7 billion or Rs. 190 billion drawing fire from Opposition and other skeptics who have warned Sri Lanka would suffer the same fate as Greece today which is in crisis after hosting the Olympics games several years ago.

Nevertheless the Sri Lankan bid has been backed by Sri Lankan corporates and  high networth individuals as well whilst several business leaders were roped in to oversee marketing of the bid in specific regions.

Australian media was replete with stories on the Bid with some oozing with confidence whilst a few others expressing worry over Hambantota’s strong chances in addition to winning sympathy or support votes from smaller and developing member nations of the Commonwealth. Australian bookmakers too are fuelling the contest citing odds in favour of Gold Cost with bets ranging from $ 1.50 and $ 1.30 versus Hambantota’s $ 2.50 and $ 3.40.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka held its final promotional reception to all delegates on Wednesday.

“Tonight could not have gone better,” Hambantota Bid Committee Co-Chairman and Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal was quoted as saying to the Bulletin as per an article in goldcoast.com.au.

“We proved that not only could Sri Lanka host the Games – but that we could do it in style.”

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Gold Coast bid team boss Mark Stockwell were among those who had enjoyed the Sri Lankan reception.

Ms Bligh, who flew in a few hours before the event, said it was the first “real opportunity to assess the competition.” Traditional dancers, singers and musicians entertained the crowd for more than three hours, in a show Stockwell described as “spectacular.” “I think the competition is going to be quite close,” he said. “The bids are so different. There are delegates that the Sri Lankan message strikes a chord with.”

Cabraal said he believed Sri Lanka was going to win because of the message the bid team had spread about the importance of the event for the “rebuilding of Hambantota.” “I have a feeling that we will win,” the news report quoted Cabraal as saying.

It said Miss Sri Lanka Stephanie Sirwardhana was there to support the bid, along with actress Anarkali Akarsha and retired cricket great Aravinda de Silva. World’s best bowler Muttiah Muralitharan is also playing a key role.

Australian media however claimed that Sri Lanka’s contingent outnumbered Gold Coast seven to one.

As per reports Queensland city’s delegation comprised only 20. “We may be outnumbered here but we have put in a lot of work over the years and I am very confident in our bid,” Gold Coast bid chairman Mark Stockwell told Aussie media from St Kitts.

“I feel very confident with our bid but nervous about the result. Sri Lanka has taken a totally different approach to us and their approach will strike a chord with some developing nations,” he added.

President of Sri Lanka’s National Olympic Committee (NOCSL) Hemasiri Fernando had told SKNVibes that as he is also the Regional Vice President of the Commonwealth Games Federation and been with them for almost 20 years, he knew how the members think.

“I think they always need a change. And we have capitalised on that and we are going very strong on that. We are very confident that we can do it and we are also very confident that we are going to win,” Fernando was quoted as saying.

“At the moment, we cannot match the facilities, the infrastructure facilities, and technological developments of Gold Coast, but in five year’s time we will have all infrastructure ready and also we are going to have trial games in 2016,” he added.

Both bidding teams can be comforted by the knowledge there will be no repetition of the Games vote in 2003 which awarded last year's Games to Delhi in India.

Delhi emerged at the very last meeting of all delegates with a cash offer of $140,000 to any nation who voted for it, clinching crucial votes of many small, impoverished countries and winning the vote 46-22.

Any last-minute inducements have since been banned.

Gold Coast if it wins would be the fifth time Australia host a Games while Sri Lanka is seeking the Games for a first time.