The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) today decided to propose Brisbane 2032 to the upcoming IOC Session as host for the Games of the XXXV Olympiad. The decision followed a recommendation by the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad. The IOC Members will vote at the 138th Session in Tokyo on 21 July 2021.
The Executive Board’s decision was based on a report by the Future Host Commission, which has made a detailed analysis of the Brisbane 2032 project in recent months.
This unanimous decision by the Executive Board is a credit to the years of work carried out by Brisbane 2032, the Australian Olympic Committee, and their partners, to test every aspect of the project.
The viability of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic project is demonstrated by its core strengths:
- A passion-driven offer from a sports-loving nation that has sent athletes to every edition of the modern Olympic Games and nearly every edition of the Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Games.
- A strong masterplan (presented in this video by Brisbane 2032) using 84 per cent existing and temporary venues, set against a spectacular backdrop. The remaining venues will be delivered well in advance and irrespective of the Games to meet the needs of a fast-growing population.
- Strong support from all three levels of government, the Australian population, and the private sector.
- A commitment to embrace the principles of Olympic Agenda 2020 and 2020+5, to create an Olympic project to achieve lasting and meaningful legacies for local communities.
- Alignment with existing strategies to accelerate progress towards long-term socio-economic goals, as well as the goals of the Olympic Movement, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and World Health Organization guidelines on physical activity.
- A clear Olympic and Paralympic vision, designed to be as inclusive as possible, with a “10+10+” legacy concept spanning 10 years before and 10 years after the Games.
- A commitment to sustainability, and climate-positive and athlete-centric Games.
- A balanced, fully privately-funded budget and an independent impact study that clearly demonstrates the social, environmental and economic benefits of holding the Games.
This impact study of the potential benefits of hosting the Games in Brisbane and South East Queensland, commissioned by Brisbane 2032, estimated that the event would bring USD 6.1 billion in value to the State of Queensland, and USD 13.4 billion to Australia. These values were calculated by assessing factors such as health, volunteering, and resident benefits, as well as qualitative benefits such as community infrastructure, and behavioural change to protect the environment and reduce carbon emissions.
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “Sport is seen by many governments around the world as essential to the long-term development of their countries and regions. The Brisbane 2032 Olympic project shows how forward-thinking leaders recognise the power of sport as a way to achieve lasting legacies for their communities.”
Kristin Kloster Aasen, Chair of the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad, said: “Our Commission has worked closely with Brisbane 2032 through a collaborative partnership to explore how their vision, concept and legacy plans for the Olympic and Paralympic Games could align with social and economic development plans for the city and the region. The new approach to electing Olympic hosts has enabled this project to be enhanced as part of a two-way conversation, honouring our commitment that the Olympic Games should adapt to the needs of the host and their population, and not the reverse.”
By January 2021, it had become clear Brisbane 2032 was in a very advanced state of preparations and presented an opportunity in a very uncertain time. An IOC Feasibility Assessment confirmed that Brisbane 2032 met all the criteria to open a Targeted Dialogue.
The Executive Board’s decision to open a Targeted Dialogue 2032 on 24 February 2021, and invite Brisbane as Preferred Host, followed a recommendation from the Future Host Commission, and was endorsed by IOC Members at the virtual 137th Session in March. It reflected the impact of the global pandemic, and advice received from economists that over the next few years the world would face an uncertain economic future, and large organisations should move swiftly to stabilise their long-term positions.
Targeted Dialogue allows the IOC to help Preferred Hosts to optimise their projects in many areas, such as the venue masterplan, economics of the Games, legacy and sustainability. The process culminated in Brisbane’s Value Proposition being presented as a Final Submission in response to the IOC’s Future Host Questionnaire in May.
Under the IOC’s new flexible approach to future host elections, the two Future Host Commissions (Summer and Winter) are permanently open to exploratory, non-committal discussions with cities, regions and countries, and their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs), on their ambitions to host the Olympic and Youth Olympic Games.
Continuous Dialogue is ongoing with other Interested Parties, in order to further develop their excellent and promising projects for the future. – www.olympics.com
