Brisbane Officially Selected As Host City For 2032 Summer Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that Brisbane, Australia will be the hosts for the 2032 Summer Olympic Games.

It has been expected that Brisbane would host the Games since earlier this year when they were identified as the frontrunners for selection by the IOC. Brisbane has become the first city to win an Olympic bid under the new selection procedures that are designed to reduce costs related to the Olympic bidding process. Preferred hosts are named early on in the bidding process and assuming enough support is received by the city from its federal government, that preferred host becomes the main focus of the IOC throughout the process.

IOC President Thomas Bach discussed the Brisbane selection:

“The Brisbane 2032 vision and Games plan fit into long-term regional and national strategies for social and economic development in Queensland and Australia, and complement the goals for the Olympic Movement outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020 and 2020+5 while focusing on providing memorable sports experiences for athletes and fans. Today’s vote is a vote of trust that Brisbane and Queensland will stage magnificent Olympic and Paralympic Games 2032. We have heard a lot of positive feedback from IOC Members and International Federations in the past few months.”

Bach has deemed the first use of the new selection process a success and expressed that the IOC will continue to use it moving forward;

“This new approach is lighter, more collaborative, more compact, and has a positive impact. Now we always have a significant pool of Interested Parties for 2036, and even for 2040, which is almost 20 years from now. I can’t remember that we have ever been in such a favorable position 20 years before an Olympic Games.

“We enter Tokyo 2020 with full confidence for the future of the Olympic Movement.”

Brisbane was official selected to host the 2032 Games following an IOC vote where they received 72 ‘yes’ votes and only 5 ‘no’ votes. Brisbane has officially secured hosting duties roughly a year and a half after Queensland (the state within which Brisbane lies), Australia officially announced its bid to host back in December 2019. Throughout the process, Brisbane took over for Queensland as the main bidding city but it is expected that a number of cities within Queensland including the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, and others will share hosting duties in 2032.

The fate of Brisbane 2032 was briefly put into question back in 2020 when the city decided to put a hold on its bid in May 2020 as a result of COVID-19 induced economic strain.

Brisbane 2032 will be 3rd time that the Olympics occur in Australia and makes Brisbane the 3rd Australian city to host a Games, following Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000. Australia has hosted a number of major international competitions including 5 editions of the Commonwealth Games, most recently in the Gold Coast in 2018. Brisbane, specifically, has hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games as well as the 1987 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.

Organizers of the bid touted an 84% existing and temporary venue rate as part of a new sustainability movement within the Games, though a point of contention has been a proposed $1 billion rebuild of the Brisbane Cricket Ground as the event’s central stadium.

The Brisbane airport is also expected to receive a $1 billion upgrade before 2032 that includes building a third terminal in the city of 2.28 million.

“The Games will accelerate our future by providing the infrastructure much sooner than otherwise would be the case, by focusing and fast-tracking investment of all governments,” Annastacia Palaszczuk, the Premier of Queensland, said.

“We want to show the world that mid-sized cities and regions can host the Games without financial distress or missed deadlines. The keys are long-term planning, bi-partisan support and making the most of a city’s natural and built resources.”

Brisbane hosted an outdoor viewing party, complete with fireworks, where the Host City Contract was officially signed.

According to the IOC press release, the Honorable Scott Morrison MP, Prime Minister of Australia shared his thoughts on the news:

“I am proud of Australia, proud of Queensland and proud of our team that secured this win for our country. The Commonwealth Government has supported Brisbane’s candidacy for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games right from the very start. We believe in this bid. We know it’s a huge opportunity for our nation, just like the Melbourne Games in 1956 and the Sydney Olympics in 2000.”