As the first day of the Glasgow 2014 Debrief got underway here, Prince Imran believes these two aspects will be key in the ultimate success of Gold Coast 2018 as the limelight shifts to this fun-loving, sun, sand and beach city in Queensland, Australia, just under three-and-a-half years out from the Games.

Delegates from Glasgow 2014, the CGF, Gold Coast 2018, the Queensland Government  and 2022 Games bidders Edmonton and Durban have all made the trip here.

They are here to hear Glasgow 2014 share its feedback and knowledge from this year's hugely successful event. 

After outlining the plans for the next week-and-a-half, which includes the Glasgow Debrief, a Candidate City seminar for Durban and Edmonton, and a Gold Coast 2018 Coordination Commission, Prince Imran told insidethegames of the importance for Gold Coast to cooperate with its multitude of partners early on in order to run a smooth and successful Games.

"The most important thing that Glasgow has already shown is that there was really excellent cooperation between the stakeholders and the partners;  the Organising Committee, the City Council, the Scottish Government, the Federal Government [UK Government] and all the other International Federations, athletes, everything," he said. 

"And I think that's something that is important early on for Gold Coast to understand and maybe the Queensland Government also to understand, that nothing is going to happen unless they work together and cooperate and have the give and take, and understand each other's concerns and constraints and I think then it will be a successful Games."

A welcoming atmosphere and excellent cooperation between stakeholders and partners are two of the most important lessons Gold Coast 2018 needs to learn from Glasgow 2014 as the Debrief workshop gets underway ©Matthew Curtain/Twitter



Looking back on Glasgow 2014, Prince Imran claimed "it is important also to learn from Glasgow how people, the local people, the hosts as it were, generally speaking are so welcoming and so open to the visitors and I think that's something, for me, that was the hallmark of Glasgow."

He added: "A superbly run Games but the cream at the top was the welcoming people of Glasgow."

This element of welcoming and opening the city up for visitors is crucial for Gold Coast, according to Prince Imran, if they are going to replicate the success of Glasgow.

"So I think that if Gold Coast can reproduce that; I'm sure they can reproduce in terms of the stadia, in terms of the environment in terms of the delivery of the Games, but if they can put that extra Australian hospitality or Queensland hospitality on the top, I think that'll then be the cream on the top," he said.

"But there are so many aspects too as well, like between now and 2018 there's got to be a marketing programme that essentially positions the Games for 2018 against all the other events of 2018.

"This has to persuade the top athletes to participate and persuade the top athletes that the Commonwealth Games 2018 should be the highlight of their year, for the sports that are on the programme.

"So I think that's something Glasgow worked very well at."

If Gold Coast can recreate the warm and open atmosphere of Glasgow 2014 then it will be the cream on the top of the pudding, claims CGF President Prince Imran ©Getty Images



This week's Debrief is crucial not only for Gold Coast, but also for the CGF and future hosts of the Games.

It gives Glasgow the opportunity to "tell everyone exactly how it all happened, exactly what they did that was right, what they did maybe that was wrong or to be aware of, and then they'll be able to answer questions", said Imran. 

For the CGF, it also allows them to take the knowledge learnt from Glasgow and add it to their "Games Manual", which can then be taken forward for future hosts to replicate and host a successful Games, similar to that of Glasgow's, but with its own unique twist.

"It's a really comprehensive debrief and of course eventually this will all go down in to the Games manual for future Games," said Prince Imran.

"We update the manual on the various different things that were done, so I think this will be very positive for the future of the Games, which is part of our mission; to deliver a great Games."

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