Brisbane Has Been Named the Preferred Host of the 2032 Olympic Games
The International Olympic Committee will now enter into "targeted dialogue" with Australian authorities to discuss staging the games in more detail.
Fresh from making history as the only city outside of Melbourne to ever host an AFL Grand Final, Brisbane looks poised to land another huge sporting event: the 2032 Olympic Games.
While a final decision hasn't yet been made, the International Olympic Committee has just announced that it will enter into "targeted dialogue" with the committee behind the Queensland capital's hosting bid and the Australian Olympic Committee. The move follows a recommendation by the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad, and will see more detailed discussions about Brisbane staging the games take place.
While it isn't guaranteed that the chats between the IOC and Australia's committees will land Brisbane the hosting spot, the former has outlined a number of reasons that Brisbane has been selected to progress to the next stage. They include the city's experience in hosting major international sports events, the advanced nature of its plan, and the proposed focus on existing or temporary venues. Queensland's climate in July and August also weighed in its favour — unsurprisingly — as did the commitment to improving transport infrastructure, Brisbane's lineup of hotels, and the support of the government, the public and the private sector.
Also named a factor: "Australia's sporting success throughout modern Olympic history". The IOC specifically referred to the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, which was the last time the Games were held in Oceania. It also noted that if Brisbane was to emerge victorious, there'd be just a 32-year gap between Australia's most recent hosting slots. The Games were first held on our shores back in 1956, in Melbourne.
Brisbane's bid includes three clusters of venues — with 21 in Brisbane itself, six on the Gold Coast and three on the Sunshine Coast — and proposes that the Games take place between July 23–August 8, 2032. A new Olympic Stadium, arena and indoor sports centre are mooted in the plan, and a new waterfront Olympic Village would be built in Brisbane, with a second set up on the Gold Coast using existing hotels.
If Brisbane is picked, it'll mean that southeast Queensland will host the Olympics just 14 years after hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Brisbane has also staged the Commonwealth Games, back in 1982.
A decision on Brisbane's Olympic Games bid is expected to be announced over the next year — after Tokyo holds the postponed 2020 Games this year. Paris is on hosting duties in 2024, while Los Angeles will take the torch in 2028.
For further details about the International Olympic Committee's announcement, and about Brisbane's bid for the 2032 Olympics, head to the Games' website.
Top image: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport via Wikimedia Commons.
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