Day 1: Today at GC2018: Thursday 5 April

The 21st Commonwealth Games is finally here. Over 6,600 athletes and team officials from 71 nations and territories have converged on the Gold Coast for 11 unforgettable days of world class sporting action.

For the first time in the history of a major multi-sport Games, there will be an equal number of medal events for men and women across all sports and it starts with the first medal event of the games – the women’s Triathlon.

GC2018 is the largest integrated sports program in Commonwealth Games history, comprising 18 sports and seven para sports.

Gold Medals up for grabs today: 19

Swimming: 7 | Track Cycling: 6 | Weightlifting: 3 | Triathlon: 2 | Gymnastics: 1

First gold medal event: women’s Triathlon

It will be a busy first day of competition, starting with the women’s Triathlon which will officially be the first gold medal event of the Games. Reigning World Champion Flora Duffy will be hard to beat but there are certainly plenty of contenders including Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle, England’s Jessica Learmonth, and New Zealand’s Andrea Hewitt.

In the men’s competition, the Brownlee brothers will be looking to both make the podium and they’ll be challenged by South Africa’s Henri Schoeman, Australia’s Matthew Hauser and Jake Birtwhistle and Canada’s Tyler Mislawchuk.

Swimming makes a splash

The Optus Aquatic Centre will host an action-packed day of swimming and the first of 50 gold medals will be awarded in the night session. The highlights today will be the Men’s 400m freestyle final and the women’s 200m and 4x100m relay which is sure to be raced in front of a raucous crowd.

Australia’s 17-year-old Ariarne Titmus will start her campaign in the pool after winning the national 200, 400 and 800m titles. Canada’s superstar 17-year-old Penny Oleksiak will also start her assault on the pool – she’s currently scheduled to compete in eight events.

Australia’s women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team are the reigning Olympic and world record holders and they’ll be hoping to kick-off the Games with a bang.

Basketball is back at the Games!

The Basketball competition returns to the Commonwealth Games for the first time since Melbourne 2006 in Event Cities Cairns and Townsville.

Jamaica take on India in the first game of the women’s competition in Cairns, while the men’s competition starts with an interesting clash between England and Scotland. Can Australia claim both men’s and women’s competitions again?

Netball competition begins

The world’s top four ranked nations all start their quest for gold on the opening day of competition. Jamaica take on Fiji, England clash with rivals Scotland, New Zealand take on Uganda, before reigning Commonwealth champions Australia start their defence against Northern Ireland.

There are plenty of inspirational stories in the competition, from Uganda’s Peace Proscovia – who was never meant to leave her small village, to Northern Ireland’s cross-code superstar Caroline O’Hanlon.

If you watch one event today:

The Anna Meares Velodrome will host a number of Cycling finals on the opening night of competition, but the team sprints are sure to be a real highlight, showcasing raw speed, teamwork and high drama.

Did you know that Team Australia has won 96 Commonwealth Games cycling gold medals?

Sports on show: 13

– Badminton 
– Basketball 
– Boxing 
– Cycling Track
– Gymnastics Artistic
– Hockey 
– Lawn Bowls 
– Netball
– Squash 
– Swimming
– Table Tennis 
– Triathlon
– Weightlifting

Festival 2018 – What to watch:

Great Australian Song Book at the Main Stage (Surfers)

The Great Australian Songbook takes our anthems, love songs and ballads and sings them back to us in the vibrant accents of the Commonwealth.

Under the direction of globally renowned David Coulter, singers and musicians from Canada, the United Kingdom, Jamaica, Nigeria and beyond reinterpret the songs that make us who we are. Join Peaches,Nadine Shah, Winston McAnuff, Afrikan Boy, Patrick Wolf, The Mahotella Queens and special guests Meow Meow and Bart Willoughby in an unforgettable night of Australian music.

RITE  Roundabout Stage (Broadbeach)

Brace yourself as 10 ferociously committed acrobats put their bodies on the line in an electrifying explosion of physicality and power.

‘The Rite of Spring’ has been the basis of dances and ballets for over 100 years but never circus – until now.

In a world-first, Circa’s legendary ensemble-under the direction of Yaron Lifschitz dares to take on Stravinsky’s classical music masterpiece.