World Briefs: New Australia Olympic Bid, Denver Too, London Sailing Venue

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates is looking at a possible 2020 Summer Olympics bid for Brisbane. (Getty Images) Australia Plans Bid for 2020 Olympics

Australia is looking at a possible bid for the Summer Olympics between as early as 2020, with Brisbane its top choice.

The government of Queensland and Victoria's Major Event Company have submitted preliminary bids with the Australian Olympic Committeee (AOC) to host a Summer Games between 2020 and 2030.

AOC President John Coates said, "The Queensland government and Victoria's Major Events boss, Sir. Rodney Eddington, have both shown interest in bidding for an Olympic Games between 2020 and 2030 and I told Sir. Rod that

Australia's best chance is for a city which hasn't had the Games. That means Brisbane, but we've got to look at whether Brisbane will have the infrastructure by 2020."

It would be the third Olympics that Australia has hosted, with Melbourne playing host to the Games in 1956 as well as Sydney in 2000.

Brisbane, the third largest city in Australia with a population of 1.8 million, has previously hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games and the 2001 Goodwill Games.

Other cities who have expressed an early interest in hosting the 2020 Summer Games are New Delhi, India and Istanbul, Turkey.

Denver Considers Bid for 2018 Winter Games

Denver, which gave up the chance to hold the 1976 Winter Olympics, is considering a bid to host the 2018 Games if Chicago's effort to stage the 2016 Summer Games is unsuccessful.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter said he would wait to see if Chicago is awarded the 2016 Olympics before making a decision.

"We'll wait and see what happens, whether Chicago gets the 2016 bid next October, but if they don't, then I'll be full steam ahead with our efforts to get a 2018 bid for the Winter Olympics," Ritter said.

Denver was awarded the 1976 Winter Games by the IOC, only to have the voters of the city reject any investment in the Games due to environmental and financial concerns.

First 2012 Olympic Venue Completed

The first venue for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London has been completed with the completion of construction of the facilities for the sailing competition at the Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy.

The complex, which will also host the Paralympics events, was finished under budget and ahead of schedule, six weeks earlier than originally planned.

The facility will host 400 athletes competing in 10 Olympic sailing categories.

A 656-foot breakwater protects the new facilities, with a new pier offering two yacht-lifting cranes and a pontoon providing 70 berths for race boats.

"Weymouth & Portland was the first venue for 2012 to start construction work, so reaching the final stages of the project is another important milestone," Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) official David Higgins said.

FIH Opens Congress and Meetings Week in Los Angeles

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has opened its Congress and Meetings Week in Los Angeles, Calif.

On Monday, the FIH awarded four people who made important contributions to field hockey over the last few years. Evlyn Raistrick of Scotland received the Order of Merit from federation President Els van Breda Vriesman, while

Honorary Secretary Peter Cohen, Janet Ellis of Canada, Ken Read of Australia and Peter Wefers-Bettink of the Netherlands received the organization's Diploma of Merit.

The scene of the FIH meeting week moved to Palm Springs on Thursday for a traditional Thanksgiving lunch and a visit to the Hockey Festival, a four-day tournament held annually by USA Field Hockey since 1922. Later that evening, Rosa de Massa of Argentina was awarded as FIH Member of Honor, while Elisabeth Fuerst of Austria received a Diploma of Merit.

The week will conclude today with the FIH Congress. Elections will be the main order of business, with Vriesman and Leandro Negre of Spain the two contendersin the presidential contest.

ITU Federation Forum Kicks Off

The International Triathlon Union's Federation Forum began in Madrid, Spain on Thursday, with approximately 200 delegates for Saturday's ITU Congress in attendance.

Federation president Marisol Casado of Spain welcomed the attendees to her hometown of Madrid and praised the concept of the forum.

"It shows the maturity of the organization and it's a fantastic legacy that (ITU President) Les McDonald is giving us," Casado said.

ITU Executive Director Loreen Barnett spoke about how much ITU has developed since triathlon's Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Games and the need to work together towards the 2012 Olympics in London.

"Together, we can make an amazing experience," Barnett said. "In the coming months, we will begin the process of staging and working towards building the next Olympic event."

The first session was on national federation governance. Three successful federations were recognized as case studies, with Dave Beeche of Triathlon New Zealand, Sarah Springman of the British Triathlon Federation and Casado of the Spanish Triathlon Federation presenting a look at their organization's operations.

A series of sessions followed, with presentations on marketing and sponsorship, events, sport development and media and television by the respective ITU directors.

BOA Adam Parsons will lead communications for the British Olympic Association starting in 2009. (BOA) Names Communications Chief

BBC sports reporter and presenter Adam Parsons is named Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the British Olympic Association. He'll begin work in the New Year, says a release from the BOA.

Parsons reported for the BBC from the Olympics in Athens and Beijing and has covered events involving London 2012.

"Joining the BOA at this time is a fantastic opportunity," says Parsons.

"I'm convinced we can do even more to spread the Olympic ideals, and the BOA can play a big part in uniting British sport during this crucial period in the run-up to 2012. We have a unique chance to change the sporting landscape of this country, and it's an opportunity we need to embrace," he says in a statement.

Samoa to host 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games

The Pacific island of Samoa has been selected to host the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games by the Commonwealth Games Federation's 71 member nations and territories at its recent General Assembly in The Gambia.

The Games will be based in Apia, the Government and commercial capital of Samoa, Sept. 14-20, 2015.

Edinburgh, Scotland (2000), Bendigo, Australia (2004) and Pune, India (200) hosted the first three editions of the Commonwealth Youth Games, with the Isle of Man, England to host the next one in 2011.

Samoa has hosted several major international and regional events, including the 2007 IWF Weightlifting World Cup, the South Pacific Games and the Oceania Olympic boxing qualification tournament.

U.S. Publication Readers Rank Olympics Top Global Event

Readers of U.S.-based Sports Business Journal say that the Summer Olympics is the global sports property that they would want to be most associated with: 45.48 percent, narrowly edging the FIFA World Cup, which received 44.41 percent of the 1216 responses. The Winter Olympics scored 10 percent.

The Beijing Olympics deserved a silver medal said 42 percent of the respondents, 30 percent would have awarded gold, with 16 percent a bronze and 12 percent no medal.

U.S. Olympics rightsholder NBC fared not so well in rankings of the effectiveness of its sports division or public relations, scoring fourth among the four major U.S. networks. But NBC sports chairman Dick Ebersol was judged to be the most effective executive, followed by ABC/ESPN's George Bodenheimer, Sean McManus of CBS and George Hill at Fox.

The SBJ readers said they expected sports sponsorship spending to drop slightly in the next five years.

Written by Greg Oshust.