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International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach confirmed that the IOC Executive Board had endorsed Brisbane’s bid during a meeting on Wednesday. Australia last hosted the Olympics in 2000, when Sydney hosted the Summer Games.
By Geraint Hughes
Last Updated: 02/24/21 8:49 pm
Brisbane to enter exclusive talks with the IOC
Brisbane has been chosen as the preferred bidder for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach confirmed that the IOC Executive Board had endorsed the Australian bid during a meeting on Wednesday.
“Australia and Oceania’s commitment to Olympic sports has grown dramatically since the fantastic Sydney 2000 Olympics,” said Bach.
“That is why we see such strong public support. We decided to take the opportunity to take our comeback discussions to the next stage 32 years later.
“In this way, we also recognize the strength of the Australian team and other athletes from across the continent of Oceania at the Olympics over the past decades.”
Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee
Brisbane is among a group of cities, including Doha, Budapest, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Jakarta, New Delhi, and the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Chongqing, that have expressed interest in hosting the Games.
There is also the possibility of a joint bid from North and South Korea, after South Korea’s Pyeongchang region hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The IOC has a new, more specific and flexible approach to future host sites, which is permanently open to “continuous, non-binding, exploratory dialogue with stakeholders”.
Previously, a host city was selected seven years in advance. However, in an attempt to lower costs for potential bidders and reduce the number of lost bids, this process has been reformed.
Instead, Brisbane will enter into exclusive discussions with the IOC through its Summer Commission of Future Hosts.
The process does not exclude other cities from the tender and those cities are encouraged to continue the dialogue with the IOC.
However, it gives Brisbane the opportunity to show its financial plans and options clearly and in advance. If the talks are successful, the Australian bid would go to an IOC session for a vote.
Despite this attempt by the IOC to appear more transparent, Bach has had to defend the role of former IOC Vice President John Coates, who is the head of the Australian Olympic Committee.
Coates chaired a task force within the Olympic movement that changed the host city selection process two years ago.
Bach stated that Coates would not participate in the selection or the Future Host Summer Commission.
Tokyo will host the next Summer Olympics later this year, after the Games were postponed for 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Paris has been selected as the host city for the Summer Games in 2024, and Los Angeles will host it in 2028.
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