<p>In April 2018 the Gold Coast will host world class athletes from the 52 states that comprise the Commonwealth, with a total of more than 70 teams competing for glory, as many dependent territories participate under their own flags. Nearly 300 individual events will be held across 18 different sports, with the opening and closing ceremonies as well as athletics taking place at Carrara Stadium. One of the main reasons that the city was awarded the Games was the fact that most of the venues and other infrastructure is already built, although the G:link light rail will be getting an extension north to Helensvale in order to make transportation even easier for the tens of thousands of spectators expected to attend. First held in 1930 (albeit under the now quite awkward sounding British Empire Games), the 21st Commonwealth Games will be the fifth time that Australia has been the host, most recently in Melbourne in 2006. Historically, Australia has dominated the Games, finishing as the highest achieving team twelve times (five more than England), and there's no reason to expect anything less this time around.</p>