Gold Coast Airport has unveiled its GC2018 Airport Lounge in the days before thousands of Commonwealth Games athletes and officials start converging on the city.

The GC2018 Airport Lounge has been created to give athletes, officials, sponsors, dignitaries and accredited media a taste of the Gold Coast – before they experience the real thing.

The lounge will be open for guests from Tuesday (March 20), as Games visitors start arriving ahead of next month’s event.

Gold Coast Airport COO Marion Charlton said the lounge, which had a beach and rainforest theme, would host live entertainment to create a unique welcome and farewell for visitors.

“We created the lounge in the hope of improving the experience of athletes coming into and traveling out of the Gold Coast for this major event,” she said.

“We knew we needed to create something special and that the eyes of the world would be watching. The airport is the first and last impression of the destination, and that’s not a role we take lightly.

“Our focus was on bringing the Gold Coast to the airport for those GC2018 travellers who won’t have much time to spend exploring all that our beautiful region has to offer.”

Ms Charlton said the lounge would also relieve congestion in the terminal at what would be a peak time for Gold Coast Airport.

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation CEO Mark Peters said the experience athletes had of the Gold Coast would start as soon as they stepped off the plane.

“Gold Coast Airport is the gateway to the Games, and the GC2018 Airport Lounge is a wonderful initiative of the airport team to help the city deliver a friendly Games,” he said.

“Airport staff and our own GC2018 workforce will give everyone a warm welcome and I’m sure this will create a great first impression of the city.”

The GC2018 Airport Lounge will feature roving entertainment from local performers, Australian wildlife presentations from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and music. It will also boast a big screen, with live streaming of Games events.

The lounge has been designed and delivered by ExpoNet.

Owned and operated by Queensland Airports Limited, Gold Coast Airport is the direct gateway to Australia’s premier tourism destination, handling in excess of 6.5 million passenger movements annually.

Gold Coast Airport is an Official Airport of GC2018.