Whether it is tight construction deadlines, a political crisis or general chaos behind the scenes, the last few days and weeks before the Opening Ceremony bring lingering questions and difficulties.

Will everything go smoothly? Or will the entire project collapse before their very eyes?

Thankfully for those working on the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, they have had no such troubles.

Journalists are criticised for being too quick to criticise and too slow to praise. We are accused of finding that chink in the armour, however minute it may seem, and homing in on it like nothing else matters.

In fairness, we have been given a multitude of such problems in recent years to get our teeth into. Consider the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where there were genuine fears over the extent to which the event would be delivered in the hours before the curtain came up at the famous Maracanã Stadium.

The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang was another case in point in some ways, where the Organising Committee were being constantly reminded by the powers-that-be at the International Olympic Committee over the need to address challenges such as promotion and legacy.

Small-fry when compared with the corruption allegations and collapse of the Brazilian political system which dominated the pre-Rio 2016 landscape, but issues nonetheless.

Not to get too carried away but with Gold Coast 2018, it seems their preparations for the Commonwealth Games have been as serene as the gentle breeze which swept along the beach here this morning.

There have been almost none of the traditional pre-Games worries that accompany a major event of this scale.

Aside from residents’ complaints about traffic, which are being tackled through a number of initiatives and measures, and a quickly-remedied issue with visas for athletes and officials, the path towards the Opening Ceremony on April 4 has been full of sunshine, rather than gloom, for Gold Coast 2018.

While it has not been totally plain sailing – there were initial suggestions the budget could spiral and there was also a row regarding how tender contracts were issued for venues – it is hard to find fault with their progress.

It is little wonder chief executive Mark Peters was so positive when we sat down at the official unveiling of the lawn bowls venue today.

“We are in a really good spot,” Peters told insidethegames. “Right back in 2011 we did an honest bid book; we talked about what we were going to do, about budgets and all sorts of things but we did a whole lot of work to make sure we would not be going back to Government asking for more money.

“That has played out true.

“When the athletes compare the pictures of the Village we put up in 2011 and what it is now, it is exactly what we promised to deliver.

“You always want to get the Village right and you want to get your venues up in time – all of that is happening.”

Peters mentioned an “honest” bid book on several occasions during our discussion in a clear nod to how others in similar positions have got it wrong in the past.

Promises and pledges frequently differ from reality when it comes to major sporting events. Costs inevitably overrun, leaving organisers scrambling to alter venue plans to save money, and initial concept designs of infrastructure look sensational on paper and at times underwhelming when they are built.

“We still have 11 days to go and we still have a few weeks to go but I always come back to our honest bid book,” Peters said.

“For some reason I talk about it ad-nauseum.

“Often when bids are put up, I question whether they are real budgets or are they budgets to win a Games?

“We went into the bid book with all those facilities planned and the costings done in 2018 dollars and then we convinced the Government to build them earlier at the end of the global financial crisis, where it was cheaper to buy them.

“We worked hard to keep the core people from the bid so that they were all held accountable and we kept that consistency.”

Of course, it is easy to get wrapped up in the fervent optimism which I experienced when meeting volunteers, staff and officials here this morning.

Such positivity from the likes of Peters can often be used as a caveat and a concealer for issues lying under the surface and out of the watching eye of the general public and media.

We have seen it before. Armies of communications officers regularly tell their leadership to spout endless favourable messages, ignoring any troubles or hurdles whomever they are working for are facing.

Even the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) have been guilty of that in the past.

In his final press conference at the conclusion of the 2010 Games in New Delhi, Mike Fennell, then the CGF President, said the event had “gone well” and that they had received “positive feedback”.

Barely 48 hours later, the Indian Government had launched an inquiry into claims of “corruption and mismanagement” that overshadowed the build-up to the Games.

The ramifications were still being felt even as recently as last year, when the Organising Committee was dissolved despite outstanding debts.

Gold Coast 2018 are almost certainly not going to face similar disarray after the Commonwealth Games circus has left town on April 15.

In fact, their biggest issue at this point might be complacency, coupled with a feeling that Gold Coast, an affluent and hugely popular tourist area, may fail to capture the imagination in the same way Glasgow did four years ago.

But these are relatively minor points. For now, Gold Coast 2018 are clearly on track to stage a superb sporting festival, yet Peters and the rest of the Organising Committee are not resting on their laurels.

"Our challenges are just to keep working 100 per cent like we are at the moment and to ensure we leave no stone unturned," Peters says before offering parting words of widsom for future event hosts.

"It is all about staying true to your planning – a lot of people have great ideas but great ideas cost money."