Eleven metre high lights set to welcome visitors to the Gold Coast’s north and south

EXCLUSIVE: THE Gold Coast City Council is spending $2 million on two small sections of lights in the north and south. Get your first look at the Glitter Strip’s answer to a Hollywood icon which is set to shine. SEE THE VIDEO

A NEW YORK company is about to put the Gold Coast in lights, having won the $2 million contract to build 11-metre-high illuminated welcome signs at each end of the city.

The two signs will use repurposed highway lights and poles to spell out Gold Coast in the north and GC in the south.

The signs are hoped to create a city icon on par with the Hollywood and Welcome to Las Vegas signs.

An artist impression of the northern Gold Coast gateway sign to be placed on the M1.

The designs will be unveiled today by the Gold Coast City Council.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the two gateway signs would “bookend” the city ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games.

“Together, they will create a sense of arrival and welcome for locals, visitors and GC2018 athletes, regardless of whether they visit us from the north or south,” he said.

The signs will cost around $2 million.

The design has already had one doubter with Deputy Mayor Donna Gates voting against the project.

“Even though I believe it is a positive thing for the city to have an entry statement, the traffic congestion in the northern Gold Coast is getting worse and I felt the community I represent would prefer it to be spent towards a congestion-busting project.”

Deputy Mayor Donna Gates. Picture: Nigel Hallett

The design was created by New York-based LOT-EK artists Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano who have named the project HI-LIGHTS.

Coolangatta councillor Gail O’Neill said despite the project being given to an international artist there was also an opportunity for a Gold Coast artist to learn.

“We’re offering a $10,000 grant to an emerging or early career artist as a professional development opportunity through a mentorship with LOT-EK,” Cr O’Neill said.

Councillor Gail O'Neill. Photo: Jerad Williams

She said LOT-EK and the council would work with the selected artists to develop a program suited to their aspirations.

The northern sign will be erected between the north and south-bound lanes of the M1, just south of the Albert River at Staplyton. The southern sign will sit near the Gold Coast Hwy, close to the airport.

Commonwealth Games Minister Kate Jones said the project would be a lasting reminder of the Games.

“It’s all about the transformation of the Gold Coast to a boutique, international city and that’s a great Games legacy in itself,” she said.

Commonwealth Games Minister Kate Jones. Photo: Steve Holland

The signs are expected to be completed by the end of the year.