If there’s one thing the Gold Coast is famous for, it’s the miles of white sandy beaches.

They’re also a major drawcard for bringing visitors from around the world to next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

One of the most in-demand tickets for the games is beach volleyball, so much so it’s already sold out.

But organisers aren’t going to use local sand. Instead, they’re going to truck in as much as 1,700 tones from south-east Queensland.

To find out why, Michael McLaren speaks with Steve Hart from Volleyball Australia.

“It sounds almost ridiculous.

“But it’s just not an unusual thing. It happens all around the world.

“Beach volleyball is often not even played on the beach. This won’t be played on the beach.”

“It’s very rare that the actual sand on the beach is of the right coarseness to meet the international specifications.”

Listen to the full interview below