Commonwealth Games 2018 Closing ceremony: Four in running for flag bearer honour

WHEELCHAIR hero Kurt Fearnley will vie with swimming superstars Mitch Larkin and the Campbell sisters for the honour of carrying the Australian flag at the closing ceremony farewell party for the Commonwealth Games on Sunday night.

WHEELCHAIR hero Kurt Fearnley will vie with swimming superstars Mitch Larkin and the Campbell sisters for the honour to carry the Australian flag at the closing ceremony farewell party for the Commonwealth Games on Sunday night.

The decision to integrate para sports in to the main program has been an overwhelming success story of the Games and Fearnley, who will retire from international competition after the morning’s T54 wheelchair marathon, is tipped as a slight favourite to earn flag-bearing duties.

After an opening ceremony widely panned, organisers have promised to go out with the bang with performers including Guy Sebastian, Dami Im and Yothu Yindi.

There are still about 3000 tickets left for the signing off extravaganza.

Minister for the Commonwealth Games Kate Jones and GOLDOC Chairman Peter Beattie have both lauded the event as a huge success.

Games Minister Kate Jones today gave the Gold Coast Games an A++ rating while chairman Peter Beattie said they’ve been “bloody fantastic”.

Before the Games began 10 days ago, Ms Jones promised they would be the “best ever”.

Mitch Larkin, the Campbell sisters and Kurt Fearnley are all in the running for the honour to carry the Australian flag at the closing ceremony.

She said she believed they have been and would transform the Coast.

Mr Beattie said the Games had been “bloody fantastic”.

“This has been an overwhelming success,” he said.

“It has put the Gold Coast on a world stage in a way that’s never happened before.”

Kurt Fearnley is retiring after the Games and is a slight favourite to carry the Australian flag at the closing ceremony. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Mr Beattie said more than 1.2 million tickets had been sold in what was effectively a “full house” and social media coverage had been “extraordinary”.

Gold Coast City Council CEO Dale Dickson said the Games had been “city-changing” and the decision to host the event was the “single most important” in Glitter Strip history and would “future-proof” the Coast.

Mitch Larkin was a standout in Australia’s sterling swimming programme. Picture: Clive Rose/Getty Images

He said the Games had led to a boom in public transport, paved the way for the Coast’s own high-speed internet network, created new infrastructure and given the city global exposure.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Games had shown the world the state has the expertise and an outstanding legacy of sporting facilities to host any number of world class events and championships.

She will dispatch Ms Jones to Thailand on Monday for the international SportAccord in a bid to lure more big-name events to Queensland.

it would be a tough call to choose one Campbell sister over the other. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England

“The World Athletics Championships are a definite prospect,” she said.

“We have the right climate and the specialised infrastructure in place now ready to go.

“While we can rightly enjoy some reflected glory we can’t ease up in leveraging more international contests to come here.

“And now is the time to act while the Games are still fresh in the minds of the world’s top sporting bodies, administrators and promoters.”

There has also been speculation about whether Ms Palaszczuk, snubbed in the speeches on opening ceremony night, will be able to deliver an address at the closing ceremony as she battles illness and a sore throat.

Originally published as Commonwealth Games 2018 Closing ceremony: Four in running for flag bearer honour