The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has named Brisbane as the ‘preferred host’ for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032. According to Thomas Bach, President of the IOC, the governing body will now proceed to have a ‘targeted dialogue’ with the Brisbane 2032 Committee and the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) over their bid to host the Games.
In a statement released by the IOC, there were many reasons behind choosing Brisbane for the targeted dialogue. These include a very advanced Games concept, a venue masterplan, favourable climate conditions for athletes in July and August, the alignment of the Games with South-East Queensland’s long-term strategy, and Australia’s high scores on human development indices.
Furthermore, Australia has a high level of experience in hosting major international sports events. Brisbane had previously hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games and several matches of the 1992 Cricket World Cup, and 2003 Rugby World Cup. If Brisbane wins this bid, Australia will host the Olympics for the third time. The first two times were in Melbourne and Sydney.
AOC president John Coates said there was still a lot of work tao be undertaken as the process continues. Coates said, “This is an important next step in an ongoing dialogue with the Future Host Commission. We are very clear that we must continue to work hard in outlining our vision for a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032.”
Apart from Brisbane, several cities and countries such as Indonesia, Budapest, China, Doha and Germany’s Ruhr valley had expressed an interest in hosting Olympics in 2032. Olympics will not be the only future mega-sporting event in the country over the next years as Australia is set to host the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.