Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate wants the city to bid for the IAAF World Championships after the success of the Commonwealth Games ©Getty Images

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has announced he wants the city to bid for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships following the huge success of the Commonwealth Games.

IAAF President Sebastian Coe was among the guests at Gold Coast 2018 and Tate is convinced they have done enough to persuade him to bring the World Championships to Australia for the first time since it was launched in 1983.

Coe admitted during the Games that he had spoken to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk about the prospect of the region staging more major athletics events, including the IAAF World Championships. 

The Carrara Stadium, which hosted athletics during Gold Coast 2018, was full to its 35,000 capacity most sessions.

"The success of the Games has convinced me to look at other world events such as the World Athletics Championship," Tate told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

"We can handle it at a breeze, we have the infrastructure and the great volunteers so the pride will carry on,

"I will work hard with the Premier to do what is required from our side of things but I want to put up our hand for it.

"Sebastian Coe knows all about athletes, being a legend, and if he has spoken in our favour then we are in with a good chance."

The Carrara Stadium, which hosted athletics, was a popular venue during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast and has encouraged the city's Mayor Tom Tate to launch a bid for the IAAF World Championships ©Getty Images
The Carrara Stadium, which hosted athletics, was a popular venue during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast and has encouraged the city's Mayor Tom Tate to launch a bid for the IAAF World Championships ©Getty Images

The 2019 IAAF World Championships are due to be held in Doha and the 2021 edition in Portland in the United States.

The IAAF are committed to taking the 2023 World Championships to Europe, with Budapest in Hungary currently the leading contender. 

Africa has been earmarked for the 2025 World Championships but if a suitable candidate does not emerge then Oceania, the only other continent not to have staged the IAAF's flagship event would be an attractive option. 

If Africa does host the Championships in 2025, then Australia would seem a logical choice for 2027.

"We have to be far more strategic about how we grow the sport and where we take it and who we partner with," Coe had said at a press conference during Gold Coast 2018.

"For us, [it is about] making sure that every time we have a World Championships, we are able to take it to a place that is going to drive our sport."

As well as the State Government, any bid for the IAAF World Championships is also likely to need the support of Tourism and Events Queensland.

Tate is also keen to bring other top events to the city.

"You will see in time the sporting calendar will increase not just in volume but in quality," he told the Gold Coast Bulletin. 

"We want world-class events here."