XVIII Commonwealth Games Blog

XVIII Commonwealth Games
Blog: 24th March 2006

XVIII Commonwealth Games Blog: 24th March 2006

Melbourne has really pulled out all the stops to stage this event, and you can’t help but sometimes feel the effort was slightly too much. There are far too many bright blue Melbourne 2006 banners and fences - that colour is going to haunt me when I get home. They also went a bit over the top on the merchandise.

The official shops are stocked to Olympic proportions - you can buy virtually anything with the logo or mascot on it. But those colours don’t make things terribly inviting - besides the garish blue there’s a shocking green and a kind of muddy salmon. These colours don’t go with anything, so it’s not surprising that by Day 5 they were offering two for one bargains.

The venues, on the other hand, are spectacular. Mostly because this is one of the sportiest countries on earth and they know how to build an arena. They might not be quite as good as naming them though. Most have extremely functional names. The Melbourne Sport and Aquatic Centre is a welcoming complex that does what it says on the tin: it’s the home of table tennis, squash, swimming and diving. The State Netball Hockey Centre and State Lawn Bowls Centre aren’t too difficult to work out.

The beautiful main stadium - Melbourne Cricket Ground - at least has a ring of history to it - and everyone calls it the MCG or just the Gee for short. The Rod Laver Arena is even better - home of the Australian Open grand slam event, they’ve closed the roof and converted it into a rather gorgeous gymnastics venue for the Games.

On the other hand, even the locals aren’t completely sure what you’re talking about when you mention the Telstra Dome, which apparently changes names every few years. And my personal favourite is the Multi-Purpose Venue - which has a huge sign declaring its name to the eager public. Maybe they’re waiting for someone famous to die. Or for a big sponsor to step forward. Anyway, it’s a massive structure with a sliding roof that dominates Melbourne Park. I haven’t been inside it, as the events there had limited media seating - but any arena that can reconfigure itself for track cycling, basketball and netball deserves a name like that. Multi-Purpose Venue it is. And I’m sure the Aussies will start calling it the Vee any day now.

Rich Cline.

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