A number of notable controversies and concerns associated with the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia emerged which were the subject of public debate and media commentary.
Three Australian companies: Specktak International, World Events, Dae Global and one American company Jack Morton Worldwide (JMW) submitted bids to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) to produce the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
A group of Aboriginal activists established Camp Freedom in Doug Jennings Park on the Southport Spit to protest the Commonwealth Games.
Before the ceremony, the protesters blocked the route of the Queen's Baton Relay, as it was under way in the suburb of Southport, which caused the run to be halted for about an hour.
The protesters called the event "The Stolenwealth Games" referring to the fact that Australia become part of the Commonwealth by stealing Aboriginal land.
[12] The closing ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games was criticised by the public and media for the following reasons For operational reasons, the GOLDOC had decided that the athletes still on the Gold Coast would enter the Carrara Stadium during the pre-show, before the ceremony began, which was not broadcast and played only on the big screen within the venue to entertain the crowds.
It was deemed necessary for operationally related athlete welfare reasons and had been briefed to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) which had approved the plan.
[13] The television broadcast featured relatively few images of the athletes; whose celebration traditionally forms a focus of the closing ceremony.
[14][15] Post ceremony the media offered a skewed account of events which was never actually contradicted or corrected by the stakeholders (GOLDOC, CGF, etc.)
At no time was attention drawn to the lack of athlete presence in the stadium or the fact that many of them were attending a party held by Channel 7 - one of the most vocal critical voices and also one of the stakeholders that had been briefed well in advance event.
Investigators from the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority then searched their room and found another needle in a bag which belonged to one of those two athletes.
Most hold nationalities that are deemed high-risk by immigration authorities and find it impossible to get visas outside of exceptional events, such as major games.
[29] A month after the games ended, officials estimated that fifty athletes had remained in Australia illegally, with another 200 staying in the country on visas.