UPDATED - Gold Coast Wins 2018 Commonwealth Games

(ATR) The leaders of Gold Coast's successful bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games tell Around the Rings they will celebrate tonight and then work on the long plane ride back to Australia.

"We'll be working on the way home," bid chairman Mark Stockwell told ATR in between congratulations from colleagues, voters and rival candidate Hambantota, Sri Lanka.

"The Premier and I need to sort out a few things along with the mayor,and we'll have a real good opportunity these next six weeks to put somethings in place and get us moving.

"I think the worst thing you can do take a year off and say how greatyou are. We're going to get straight onto it, so we'll start that on theplane tomorrow."

Stockwell and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh both tell ATR they are elated over their decisive victory in the voting Friday as the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly came to a close in St. Kitts.

In the CGF's first-ever use of electronic balloting, the tally was 43 for Gold Coast and 27 for Hambantota.

Despite the wide margin, Bligh called the victory "close" and thanked the Sri Lankan city for giving her colleagues quite the fight.

When told a night's celebration is all she'd get, Bligh laughed, then confirmed there will be work to do on the journey home from the Caribbean.

"The first thing is to get the legislation through the parliament to establish the organizing committee and give it the powers it needs," she told ATR.

Bligh then pledgedthat many of the same people who piloted the Australian bid will soon lead the organizing committee.

"We're required to have representation from the Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA), and we'll talk that through, but you'll see a whole lot of the same faces," she said.

"That's one of the things we committee to with the bid team. They had the vision, and they'll carry the vision through."

Asked later whether he'd be interested in leading the organizing committee as well, Stockwell said he wasn't the man to ask.

Bligh, in fact, will make that decision with consultation from other government leaders.

"We'll see how well he dances tonight," she joked.

Just as they did throughout the week in St. Kitts, the Gold Coast team delivered an athletes-centric message in their final presentation to voters.

Stockwell also stressed Australia's past experience in hosting major sports events as well as the fact that 80 percent of proposed venues already exist, both large reasons the CGF Evaluation Commission labeled the bid "low risk" in its official report.

In doing so, he refrained from mentioning the "medium to high risk" assessment given the Hambantota bid.

Bligh also played a starring role in the suitably slick presentation, focusing on Gold Coast's mature tourism market.

"Eleven million visitors a year can't be wrong," she said, adding that "Australia's place for fun" can become "the world's place for fun" in 2018.

Less than a half-hour later, outgoing CGF president Michael Fennell of Jamaica announced Gold Coast will get that chance.

After a healthy dose of hugs, kisses and two rounds of the traditional "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi" chant, the Australian delegation was greeted by their one-time rivals from Sri Lanka.

The signing of the host city contract and then a press conference with Bligh, Stockwell, ACGA president Sam Coffa, Fennell and incoming CGF president Prince Tunku Imran of Malaysia wrapped up the evening.

Bligh, Stockwell and Fennell each encouraged Sri Lanka to bid again for the Games, with Stockwell even saying he felt like voting for Hambantota after its emotional pitch earlier Friday.

Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, none of the three cast a vote in this particular contest.

When asked by ATR whether she anticipates the 2018 Commonwealth Games driving other mega-events her way, Bligh admitted that's among her hopes but fell short of announcing Gold Coast's next bid.

"The Commonwealth Games is one of the most significant sporting events in the world and when the CGF says they believe the Gold Coast can put on a great Games, ultimately that does mean that other sporting events will take notice," Bligh told ATR, "whether it's before or after the 2018 Games."

She, Stockwell and their fellow Aussies then made their way to a beach-side barbecue hosted by Glasgow 2014, the organizing committee that will pass on the CGF flag to Gold Coast 2018.

For the moment, it's time to celebrate. Then it's back to work.

Written and reported in St. Kitts by Matthew Grayson

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