The 2018 Commonwealth Games Wikipedia page recently reported the following: “On March 31, 2010, the city of Hambantota in Sri Lanka made a surprise bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.”

It was a big surprise as Wikipedia tells the whole world that Sri Lanka; a tiny dot on the world map is battling Australia’s Gold Coast to host one of the world’s biggest sporting events. It will be a challenge for Sri Lanka as the Gold Coast is the sixth largest city and the fastest growing region in Australia. It is a city that remains one of the most biodiverse with bushland, freshwater and marine habitats including 70 km of golden beaches.

Hambantota, a city severely affected by the 2004 tsunami and one of the poorest districts in Sri Lanka, is now headed for a complete miracle with major development projects. The winning bidder between the two contestants will be announced in Basseterre, St Kitts on November 11, 2011.

Can Sri Lanka pull it off?

It can be argued that this is too much for Sri Lanka as we have to find around 200-250 billion rupees to carry out this event. But in real life there is nothing wrong with thinking BIG. If you are sure to find this money from investors and if you have a solid plan, you should do it. It’s about how you wrestle with your own mind by accepting challenges. Remember that taking NO risks will give you ZERO returns.

We can consider this whole exercise of winning Commonwealth games for “Hambantota” as one of the biggest marketing exercises for the country. At the initial stage it has nothing to do with sports administration. This is purely about Hambantota marketing. What value we could add and how we differentiate ourselves will be the key to winning this. Bringing common wealth games to Hambantota can go a long way in promoting Sri Lankan tourism.

It is encouraging to see marketers like the former president of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, Mr. Nalin Attygalle, behind this. It will be the responsibility of all marketers in our country to step forward and contribute to making this a reality.

If Hambantota can get through, it will be a great opportunity for the youth of Sri Lanka. There are eight more years to go in the game and whoever can start today may have a fair shot at reaching the medal table in 2018. It’s all about proper future planning and commitment towards the finish line.

If we could think that we are not smaller and if all Sri Lankans could work towards a common goal, we could make 2018 a historic year for our country. In 1996 no one predicted that “Sri Lanka” would become the world champion in cricket. But we beat favorite Australia to win the title. History is possible to repeat.

Traders, today it’s your turn to make Sri Lanka proud.