Bach on Brisbane 2032: ‘These will be Olympic Games with the whole Pacific region’

Over the past week IOC President Thomas Bach has been on a Pacific region tour, visiting many of the region’s capitals.

On Thursday, Bach met with young athletes at the the Taurama Aquatic & Indoor Centre in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He joined in with basketball and badminton training before taking on some of the youngsters who are learning to fence.

President Bach, who won his gold medal in fencing at the Olympic Games Montreal 1976, was able in pass on some of his know-how to the young athletes.

Bach was then off to Brisbane to to attend a dinner for John Coates, the outgoing president of the Australian Olympic Committee and celebrate the city’s hosting of the 2032 Summer Olympics. It was the first IOC visit since the announcement that the 2032 Games would be held on the continent.

“These Olympic Games will not only be Games in Australia, for Australia,” Bach said. “These will be Olympic Games with the whole Pacific region. You can see the enthusiasm and the anticipation already at a very high level.”

Bach was joined by Kirsty Coventry, the head of the IOC’s coordination commission to launch an initiative known as ‘Olympics Unleashed’, which involves athletes interacting with students. Queensland is the pilot program where athletes mentor and engage up-and-coming student athletes.

“Being witnesses to one of these sessions is really encouraging,” Bach said. “It’s a great anticipation of these games, Brisbane 2032. They’re all excited, and they’re all motivated. It’s really a great feeling of Olympic spirit.”

Last July, the IOC officially selected Brisbane as the host city for the 2032 Summer Olympics. The city had been the preferred candidate of the organization for several months before the vote.

Bach was in Fiji as well, to attend the opening of the headquarters of the ONOC and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the organization. He praised the solidarity of the various national Olympic Committees in the region.

“Your solidarity has set a new benchmark amongst the NOCs,” said President Bach, “with the challenges you had to face to keep sport alive and to allow the athletes to continue to train under harsh restrictions. You had to prepare your athletes for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, to get them there, and overcome so many obstacles. For this, I can only express my deep heartfelt thanks and admiration.”

Bach also headed to Tonga to see the extensive damage that the January tsunami and volcanic eruption had on the island. President Bach was guest of honor at the NOC headquarters, where aid to help rebuild sporting infrastructure and provide new equipment destroyed in the disaster was discussed. The President also met Olympians and watched some sports demonstrations.

“We are here to show our solidarity with Tonga and the people of Tonga,” he told him. “We want to see first-hand where we can help,” he added. Projects already under discussion include replacing beach volleyball equipment lost when it was washed away in the tsunami, and the renovation of an open-water swimming facility.

During his visit to the island, Bach also talked about the journey that the members of the Olympic team went through after they were able to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Many of them had not returned to the island for four months.

“This effort, and the solidarity between NOCs, shows great dedication to the Olympic Games and to the Olympic values,” said President Bach.

During his meeting with the local officials, Bach also informed them about the IOC’s plan to make the Olympic Games climate-friendly by 2024. He was also able to tell them about the decision of the NOC’s to join the United Nations “Sport for Climate Action Framework” which now has over 300 participating organizations.