The red and white flags with a maple leaf in the centre cover the entire roadside of Utualii, even the village school has a maple leaf painted on it.

The village plays host to Canada. 

The village has worked hard. Everyone has pulled their weight and this is what the village believes is the force behind their move to decorate their surrounding.

The village has spent more than $40,000 and they are not yet finished. For every village, the decorations are about pride and showing their the nation they are hosting, and what it means to be in Samoa.

Poe Salesa, a 52-year-old chief from Utuali’i said the icing on the cake for them would be to host representatives of Canada.

She said this would be tough considering the tight schedule at the CHOGM. She also believes CHOGM has brought the nation together.

“If we want Samoa to become a better place then we should work together to make Samoa more than beautiful,” she said.

“Despite Samoa's modest size, the population there is far larger than the nation, and we can do a great deal with their assistance. 

“Samoa may only be a tiny dot on a map, but our tiny nation is made so much better by the way we cooperate and clean.”

Utuali’i is hoping that the benefits from CHOGM are far much more than what the government has spent.

To date, the government has allocated $40 million for CHOGM. This does not include the money the villages have been spending to spruce up and decorate the village.

Poe hopes that all villages will start preparing now. 

“As of right now, we have observed certain communities not being prepared for CHOGM and not cleaning up,” she said.

“As everyone is aware, numerous nations are on the way. To maintain our nation clean and hold out hope for a better Samoa down the road, we need to take a whole-of-Samoa approach.”

 She hopes the cleanliness and tidiness are observed even after CHOGM ends.