WHEN you reflect on a magical moment like Ollie Hoare's mighty 1500-metre golden run in a Commonwealth Games record, you realise this is what we have coming, Committee for Ballarat's chief executive says.
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These extraordinary moments are bound for Ballarat.
Committee for Ballarat chief executive Michael Poulton said a Commonwealth Games for regional Victoria is starting to feel real now - and we should enjoy this moment.
"The baton is handed over. We're next," Mr Poulton said. "That's exciting and the other big thing about the Games is the inspiration, there is a great level of excitement."
Mr Poulton and City of Ballarat mayor Daniel Moloney acknowledge there is a lot of work ahead but it would be worth it and there were plenty of lessons starting to emerge from Birmingham 2022.
This comes as World Athletics chairman Sebastian Coe has called into question the appropriateness of putting the Games' showpiece, the track and field program, an hour and a half away from Melbourne in Ballarat's Mars Stadium. He said a good plan, with improved public transport and accommodation, would be vital to filling the stadium.
Mr Poulton, who has a wealth of experience in international multi-sport events, maintained there was great opportunity for Ballarat.
"Inevitably you don't always get what you want but I think we can already see Victoria is putting its best foot forward - and Ballarat is a city that can capitalise on that," Mr Poulton said. "We continue to be excited by the prospect."
Securing a 20,000-seat legacy for Mars Stadium is a key focus for the City of Ballarat.
Cr Moloney said Birmingham's Alexander Stadium proved what could be done with temporary infrastructure, but he hoped event organisers would not rely on it in similar fashions to the F1 Australian Grand Prix - up one day and gone the next.
Cr Moloney also hoped there was more scope for encouraging world media to show more of regional Victoria and cultural experiences as well as top athletes.
"Birmingham showed how incredibly quick the Games comes and disappears again," Cr Moloney said. "Eleven days goes in the blink of an eye...The legacy has to be something people can see and reflect on, like the Olympic rings at the end of the 1956 Olympic rowing course at Lake Wendouree. But it's got to have broad benefit and that's what I'm excited about."
Cr Moloney said some legacies would be in the youth athletes inspired by what they see in their hometown. There were also opportunities for important cultural legacies and he said the First Nations' aspects on show in Birmingham's closing ceremony were an impressive start.
Ballarat artist Josh Muir, a Gunditjmara and Yorta Yorta man, had his art feature in what the Victorian government has billed as an "electrifying fusion" of First People's culture and contemporary performance in the ceremony on Tuesday morning, Ballarat time.
Muir's popular street art was beamed into Alexander Stadium in digital animation with the work of Gippsland artists Eileen Harrison and Ronald Edwards Pepper to celebrate regional Victoria. Muir, who died earlier this year, was known for his passion for promoting reconciliation and his hometown.
Ballarat's Macaylah Johnson, a Wadawurrung woman, was among a group of Indigenous dancers from regional Victoria to perform in the ceremony.
Johnson has been part of a regional First Nations delegation at the Games the past fortnight.
For the first time, the Commonwealth Games baton was handed to First Nations elders representing the next Games' host regions. This contingent included elders from Bendigo, Geelong, Bairnsdale and Ballarat regions, including Aunty Joy Oldaker to help lead the Games to Wadawurrung Country.
IN OTHER NEWS
Victoria 2026's chief executive Jeroen Weimar remains confident a new regional Commonwealth Games model would be a success.
Weimar, speaking from Birmingham, said hubs would have well-organised transport and scheduling that encouraged spectators to spend the day in one place instead of taking lengthy road trips.
The MCG, which will host the opening ceremony, was used to great success for athletics in Melbourne in 2006 but Weimar said upgrading and filling the smaller Ballarat ground was a more appealing option.
The 2026 Games will be held from March 17-29 across Geelong, Ballarat, Gippsland and Bendigo.
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