Powering 24 venues for an exciting worldwide sporting event
The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games was set to be the biggest ever. The eyes of the world would be watching as for the first time the Games would have equal medals events for men and women, a Reconciliation Action Plan, and para and abled athletes competing together. In addition to the competition venues, we powered the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the Athletes’ Village – which housed over 6,000 competitors and officials – and the International Broadcast Centre – which was responsible for beaming the action to millions of fans around the globe.
With the world watching, organisers needed reliable, modular power to bridge this imposing gap and ensure the millions of spectators could enjoy the exhilaration of the Games.
30 MW of our mobile, modular power and expertise as a solid foundation
From our previous experience working on international-scale events, we knew this needed precision and expertise – something we pride ourselves on. We were on location for designing and planning, six months before the Opening Ceremony. We were there each step of the way to ensure that every eventuality was covered. From Cairns at the northern-most point of the region, to the Gold Coast in the south – and everything in between – we made sure every venue received the reliable power we’re famed for.
4,414 abled and para athletes from 71 countries competed to take home 825 medals
Over the course of 11 days, 672,000 spectators packed the stadiums to witness athletes battle for the glory of 825 different medals. The massive distance and huge pressure of such a large scale event didn’t phase us, and the excitement of 71 countries going for Gold wowed the world.
The package that Aggreko put together for us responded to a strategic decision that GOLDOC took to involve the company that was going to be supplying all the temporary power, to be involved in the planning and design of that process as well. Aggreko responded in a very positive way to that opportunity. They submitted a fantastic tender and demonstrated a real capability through all aspects of planning, design and delivery of the temporary power, and that became tailored to our needs. We became reliant on Aggreko for really a period of 18 months leading up to the Games. They had a team that embedded right in with my team, worked collaboratively on the development of the design to meet all of our evolving needs and those extended needs of all the venues, specific to the Games mode requirements, and then delivered on those requirements at all those venues.
GOLDOC partnered with Aggreko because they showed us their experience and capability in the major events space just exactly what they could do. All of their design solutions were tailored to meet the Games’ specific venue conditions. They showed us that they had the experience to innovate and be flexible with both the design and delivery phases of the project, and we were reliant on them to actually deliver on that promise. They also showed us ways to innovate and achieve better outcomes with lower costs, and so they became an excellent partner for us throughout all stages of the project.
During the highly-pressurised build and delivery periods, Aggreko deftly overcame challenges and were a true partner to GOLDOC. As a company and through their on-the-ground staff, Aggreko went above and beyond their remit to assist GOLDOC and ensure the success of the event. During the competition period Aggreko provided a superior level of service.
GOLDOC congratulates Aggreko on a job well done.
Mark CutlerHead of Venue and Overlay at GOLDOC