Increased exposure of the Gold Coast, Queensland and Australia to the world will be the enduring legacy of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, a new nation-wide survey by pollster Nielsen has found.

The poll, commissioned by the Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF), found that Australians believe the biggest long-term benefit of the Games will be the promotion of the Gold Coast on the global stage (40 per cent), beating out improved infrastructure and services (22 per cent) and additional jobs and economic growth (14 per cent).

The survey also found that when asked whether the 2018 Commonwealth Games will help promote Australia to the world, 71 per cent said yes, 11 per cent said no and 18 per cent were not sure.

“For the next month, the Gold Coast will be the epicentre of global sport with the eyes of the world on the Commonwealth Games,” TTF Chief Executive Margy Osmond said.

“With an anticipated audience of more than 1.5 billion people, it is easy to see why so many people believe the legacy of the 2018 Commonwealth Games will be the global exposure of the Gold Coast as it hosts one of the world’s biggest sporting events and tourism drawcards.

“The long-term benefits of having the incredible beauty of the Gold Coast and South-East Queensland beamed into living rooms across the world every day in terms of the potential for increased visitation cannot be underestimated.

“The Commonwealth Games will well and truly put the Gold Coast on the global tourism map.”

Ms Osmond said that when it comes to what events Aussies are most looking forward to watching, the traditional blue ribbon sports of swimming and athletics are top of the list.

“When asked what top three events people are most keen to watch, our poll found that swimming was a clear favourite with 70 per cent of respondents putting it on their list, followed by athletics (54 per cent) and gymnastics (40 per cent),” Ms Osmond said.

“There is also quite a bit of interest in a range of other sports, with many looking forward to the diving (31 per cent), rugby sevens (19 per cent) and basketball (19 per cent).”