IOC Chief Encouraged by Australian 2032 Bid Work

(ATR) Thomas Bach says he is "impressed" with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison’s enthusiastic support for a potential Queensland bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics.

"He made it very clear that Olympic Games would fit 100 per cent into his government’s 10 years infrastructure planning," the IOC president said in a statement after meeting Morrison with Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka.

"This early commitment and the well-known enthusiasm of the Aussies for sport are a great foundation for the Olympic Games 2032 in Queensland."

On Sunday, Morrison told reporters in Osaka: "A Brisbane Olympics has the potential to be a game-changer for southeast Queensland and my government will be there every step of the way.

"Just like in Sydney (which hosted the 2000 Olympics), a Queensland Olympics, led by Brisbane, would be an economic and job boom and would show off the entire state to the world."

Bach’s comments come after he held meetings with Brisbane Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner, the city’s ex-mayor Graham Quirk and Sunshine Coast mayor Mark Jamieson in May ahead of SportAccord. At the time, he praised the work being undertaken on Queensland’s feasibility studies for a possible Olympic bid.

The IOC president’s remarks also come hot on the heels of a reboot of Olympic bid procedures designed to offer a more flexible way to choose Olympic hosts. They were approved by the IOC Session in Lausanne last week.

Under the shake-up, the IOC will invite potential bids only after reviewing the circumstances they present. There is also flexibility to determine how far out the Olympics will be awarded, with the IOC working with aspirant cities to refine their plans. Selecting the Olympic hosts will be managed by two separate commissions, for summer and winter.

On Monday, Australian IOC member Coates, who has chaired the taskforce responsible for bringing bidding changes to the IOC, welcomed the Australian PM’s backing for a potential tilt at the 2032 Olympic Games.

He said the PM’s commitment to a united approach across all levels of government was a good sign for Brisbane’s prospects of mounting a compelling case to host the 2032 Olympics.

"Thomas Bach conveyed the new flexible approach the IOC has adopted to create a dialogue with potential Games’ hosts and for Games to be hosted in several cities or regions," Coates said in an AOC statement.

"There’s no question a Games could be held in Queensland that suits this model.

"We have significant existing sports infrastructure across multiple locations in South East Queensland - and preliminary group events for football, men and women, could be held in Townsville at the new football stadium being constructed there, with the agreement of the North Queensland Cowboys, for these Games in August."

Coates said that Cairns, the other large regional city, should be looked at to host preliminary group events, in either basketball or volleyball.

"However, President Bach warned against spreading events too far, being mindful of comments from the athlete members of the IOC, who are concerned about the loss of the magic for athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees, coming together," Coates said.

The next steps for Australia’s 2032 Olympic aspirations is the formation of the leadership group, completion of an economic feasibility study by the Queensland Government and finalization of the competition venue masterplan.

North and South Korea could yet provide some competition for Queensland in bidding for the 2032 Olympics. The two nations have been collaborating on a joint summer Olympic bid since the end of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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