Brisbane Snags Preferred Bid for 2032 Olympics

KOMPAS.com - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) named Brisbane its preferred bidder for the 2032 Olympics on Thursday, with no present rivals.The move, which was hailed as a symbol of hope after a year of pandemic measures, is not yet a done deal, however.

"It is an exciting day," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison, adding that "we've still got a long way to go."

"It was a long night...but a very mature decision from the IOC. To take a decision when you've still got a few other cities there and say 'well, we're going to go into targeted dialogue with one preferred city' was a big call by them,'' said the Australian Olympic Committee president, John Coates.

"The IOC now deal exclusively with us while we complete the questionnaire. The other cities who have shown interest have been parked...it's significant recognition," he said.

The move comes after the IOC changed its selection procedure to be "more cost-effective, prevent any undue influence, be more apolitical and increasingly objective," said IOC president Thomas Bach.

REUTERS via ABC INDONESIA Two Japanese locals walk in front of the Olympics sign put up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Also read: FIFA Postpones 2021 U-20 World Cup, U-17 World Cup Until 2023

Others working on 2032 bids

The 2032 contest was expected to include Doha and Budapest, which withdrew late from the 2024 contest. China, Germany, India, Indonesia and Russia were also working on possible bids for 2032.

Bach told reporters in Switzerland that an IOC panel overseeing the bid process would begin "targeted dialogue" with Australian organizers.

Queensland state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said a victory would help the region recover from the coronavirus pandemic, which has flattened the local tourism industry.

Australia is currently only offering a limited number of tourist flights with New Zealand, national airline Qantas on Thursday said it did not expect other international flights to restart until October.

"It would bring huge economic benefit and jobs as part of our economic recovery as we come out of Covid," Palaszczuk told ABC radio.

"Most importantly, it gives us hope, it gives us something to look forward to. 2032 may be out in the distance — but [it's] that firm light at the end of the tunnel."

She added that Brisbane and surrounding cities to the north, south and west already had 85% of the venues required for the games and that was the "gamechanger" as the IOC seeks to cut the costs of hosting the games.

Also read: Jakarta Int'l Stadium A Training Ground for 2021 U-20 World Cup