Australia is well on its way hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast (which is going by the handle ‘GC2018’) and plenty of people have made their way to Queensland to watch the Games live.
For those of us who won’t be able to get to the sunny shores of the Gold Coast to see the action, the good news is that all the sporting action is being broadcast live and free.
Having started on April 4, and ending on April 15, the Commonwealth Games will be broadcast to a global audience of about 1.5 billion people, and below you’ll find Aussie instructions on how you can keep up with the athletes from 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth competing for the 852 medals to be won.
Mark the calendar
The 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games is the biggest sporting event to be held on the Gold Coast, although Australia has hosted the event four times already.
The opening ceremony, in all its colourful grandeur, was held on April 4, and a full schedule of sporting events, including athletics, gymnastics, cycling, and Australia's favourite discipline, swimming, just to name a few, are well under way, with plenty of medals already bagged by Australia in the pool and in the velodrome.
You can check the entire schedule on the GC2018 website to find out when your favourite athlete or event is on, but if you are prone to forgetfulness, you can always download the official Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games app available for both Android and iOS.
The app will help you stay up to date on all the happenings on the Gold Coast – live results and scheduling is available to view for all sessions and disciplines, plus the latest news and information on venues for those keen to know more.
If, however, you just want to know what the Aussies are up to, the GC2018 website has a schedule out for every event an Australian is be competing in.
For those looking for a quick glimpse into what to expect from the Games, here’s a quick look:
- Day 8 (April 11): Rhythmic gymnastics begins on April 11, while the track and field athletes continue to race at Carrara Stadium. Badminton, tablet tennis, hockey, beach volleyball and all other sports continue towards medal deciders as well. And with the swimming done and dusted, the divers take over the Optus Aquatic Centre.
- Day 9 (April 12): The final matches for beach volleyball will headline the day, along with medal deciders for diving, shooting, wrestling.
Stream the 2018 Commonwealth Games live
Outbidding Network Ten after the 2014 Glasgow Games, the Seven Network currently holds the exclusive Australian broadcast rights to the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
That means you can watch the Games on the telly live and free, but you can also stream all the events for free on your mobile or desktop.
To stream the action live, you can head to 7Plus, Seven’s online platform that provides a live feed to all the free-to-air channels in the network. The 7Plus mobile app is also available to download from Android’s Google Play Store or the iOS App Store if you’d like to keep up with each event while you’re out and about.
Seven has also repurposed its dedicated 2018 Winter Olympics app to become the GC2018 app. Like the Winter Olympics app, the 7CommGames app covers more than just live streaming – it includes news, medal tallies and the option to choose from multiple events.
The app is available to download on the App Store and the Google Play Store. As with the Winter Games app, the 7CommGames app is also being offered on Fetch TV and Apple TV as well.
Note that while the app’s free to download, users will have to contend with advertisements and can only stream in standard definition. However, like the Winter Olympics app, a one-time payment of $14.99 will not only remove most ads but also show every event in HD.
The app is also available as a desktop version which shows all events simultaneously, some of which is premium content, available for a one-time payment of $19.99.
2018 Commonwealth Games on TV
Outbidding Network Ten after the 2014 Glasgow Games, the Seven Network currently holds the exclusive Australian broadcast rights to the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
With events kicking off at 10:30am AEST each day, you’ll be able to watch all the action live and free across the channels operated by Seven – Channel 7, as well as 7Two (channel 72) and 7Mate (channel 73). Channel 70 will, of course, have everything in glorious HD.
Seven's flagship channel also has a highlights reel aired every day at 7pm in case you weren't able to keep tabs on all the happenings live.
Watch Commonwealth Games live from anywhere
If you aren't in Australia over the duration of the Games, you don't need to fret.
Our How to watch the Commonwealth Games guide walks you through setting up a VPN so you can stream sports direct from Australia.
