[lkdood]

The bid by Australia's Gold Coast to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games was described as "sound" on Thursday after a visit by the evaluation commission.

The subtropical beachside region of Queensland is going up against the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota as it bids to bring the Games to Australia for the fifth time. "We can tell you that the proposition of staging the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast is an exciting one and appears, based on our initial analysis, to be sound," commission leader Louise Martin said in a news release.

"Not only does it appear that the basic infrastructure requirements can be met, it also seems that in meeting these Games requirements important legacies can be generated for the city and region."

The Gold Coast bid represents the safer of the two bids for a Commonwealth Games Federation still smarting from the public relations disaster that surrounded the Delhi Games last year, where last-minute government intervention was required to clean up filthy facilities and dangerous infrastructure.

The commission now moves on to Hambantota, which is hoping to bring the games to Sri Lanka for the first time to stimulate redevelopment after the destruction of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The decision over the host city for the 2018 Games will be made on Nov. 11 in St Kitts and Nevis. The 2014 Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.

Reuters