Despite cities' reluctance to host the Commonwealth Games, the multi-sports event remains as relevant as ever, especially in its role as a champion for equality, said Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Louise Martin.
Martin, who in 2015 became its eighth president and first female, noted the strides the federation has made in pushing for parity among athletes male and female, and able-bodied and disabled.
The para-sport programme at Gold Coast 2018 has up to 300 para-athletes in 38 medal events across seven sports - a 45 per cent increase in number of athletes, and 73 per cent more medals on offer as compared to Glasgow 2014.
The April 4-15 edition in Australia will also feature an equal number of medal events for men and women (133 for each and nine mixed/open events) for the first time.
Half the technical officials in basketball, swimming and hockey are women, while there is also an increase in the number of male technical officials for netball, said Martin.
"As far as I'm concerned, we are the leaders of gender equality in sport and I hope everybody starts to follow us," she told The Straits Times. "That's why we're relevant - because if we're the first, I'm hoping the International Olympic Committee and all the international federations of sport will start to do the same thing."
The topic of women in sport has been highlighted in recent weeks. Last month, the Professional Darts Corporation said walk-on girls will no longer be used at events. This week, Formula One announced it will stop employing grid girls because it is "at odds with modern-day societal norms".
The CGF also hopes a new partnership established last July with international marketing agency Lagardere Sports will help increase the appeal of hosting the Games by aiming to lower costs.
GOOD POTENTIAL
You're small, but you've got a lot going for you in terms of the facilities and infrastructure.
LOUISE MARTIN, Commonwealth Games Federation president, on the possibility of Singapore as a future Games host, citing its experience from the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010.
She said that both parties have already started working with Birmingham, the 2022 hosts, "to assure them that they don't need to spend a lot of money".
Glasgow 2014 cost £543 million (S$1 billion) while the 2022 Games are estimated to cost £750 million. This year's Games, featuring over 6,600 athletes and officials from 70 nations and territories, are expected to cost A$2 billion (S$2.1 billion).
The most expensive Olympics were the Sochi Winter Games in 2014 at US$51 billion (S$67 billion), while the 2016 Rio Olympics cost about US$13.1 billion.
Unsurprisingly, interest from potential hosts for major Games has decreased.
When the South African city of Durban was stripped of its hosting rights for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, only Birmingham submitted a bid to replace it.
Only three cities - Kingston in Jamaica (1966), Kuala Lumpur (1998) and Delhi (2010) - outside the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada have hosted the Games, which began in 1930.
But Martin, a former Scotland swimmer, believes Singapore could be a suitable future host if it wishes, especially after hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2010, which "was terrific" and could be used as a "stepping stone".
"You're small, but you've got a lot going for you in terms of the facilities and infrastructure," she said.
