<P> The Shooting disciplines were held at the Belmont Shooting Centre . In Tropical North Queensland, the Cairns Convention Centre and Townsville Entertainment Centre hosted the preliminary rounds of both the men's and women's basketball competitions . </P> <P> The Queensland state government spent A $1.5 billion (US $1.2 billion) to deliver the event . Out of this, A $550 million (US $425 million) were spent on the procurement programme . Procurement of the security and security infrastructure included contracts for four prime suppliers which delivered around 4,200 security guards . A $34 million (US $26 million) were spent on the deployment of the armed forces to provide rapid - response squads, bomb detectors, offshore patrols and surveillance . A $657 million (US $509 million) were spent for the construction of the venues and the Games Village . </P> <P> At a charity gala held on 4 November 2017, the medals for the games were officially unveiled . Australian Indigenous artist Delvene Cockatoo - Collins designed the medals, while they were produced by the Royal Australian Mint . The design of the medals was inspired by the coastline of Gold Coast along with Indigenous culture . Furthermore, Cockatoo - Collins mentioned, "the medal design represents soft sand lines which shift with every tide and wave, also symbolic of athletic achievement, The continual change of tide represents the evolution in athletes who are making their mark, Records are made and special moments of elation are celebrated". Approximately 1,500 medals were created to be distributed to the medallists and each measures approximately 63 millimetres in diameter . The medals weigh between 138 and 163 grams . </P> <P> The 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village was located on 59 hectares at Southport, Gold Coast. which provided accommodation and services to 6,600 athletes and officials in 1252 permanent dwellings . There are 1170 one and two bedroom apartments and 82 three bedroom townhouses which will serve as student accommodation to the nearby Griffith University . It offered services like laundry, refreshments and television and computer spaces and four residential pools . The village consisted a gym which was designed with guidance from the Australian Institute of Sport and equipment and the equipment were sponsored by Technogym . Adjoining the gym was the Athlete Recovery Area which provided services like plunge baths, including accessible baths, saunas, massage and consults from the Sports Medical personnel . The Main Dining served over 18,000 meals per day to the athletes during the games . The village also consisted of retail shops, Optus phone store, salon, bar and a games room which featured a number of arcade games, pool tables and game consoles . </P>

When do the athletics start at the commonwealth