SwimSwam will periodically update you on the biggest news around the Olympic and Paralympic world, outside of aquatic sports. Catch up on the latest with plans for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, concerns about the television revenue split and athlete quota at the LA 2028 Olympics, and more.
The Queensland government released a 68-page research and strategy document earlier this month that offered an aspirational vision of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics’ future legacy.
From an economic perspective, the Brisbane 2032 Olympics will bring an estimated $17.6 billion AUD ($11.5 billion USD) in direct social and economic benefits to Australia’s economy and $8.1 billion AUD ($5.3 billion USD) to Queensland’s economy. The Brisbane 2032 Olympics is also projected to boost trade and tourism by $4.6 billion AUD ($3 billion USD) in Queensland and $8.5 billion AUD ($5.6 billion USD) throughout all of Australia.
Culturally, the Brisbane 2032 Olympics claims to be guided by two overarching principles: “Respecting, advancing and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples” and “Advancing accessibility and empowering people with disability.” The legacy strategy laid out four sectors and 15 themes based on input from the public:
Sport, health and inclusion
- An active and healthy lifestyle
- A high performance sports system
- Equity in sports participation
Connecting people and places
- A more connected and accessible South East Queensland
- Creating more great places and precincts
- Celebrating First Nations cultures, languages and stories
A better future for our environment
- Caring for country together
- Maximizing sustainability benefits
- Protecting and regenerating habitat and biodiversity
- Accelerating the transition to renewable energy
Economy of the future
- Advancing our global image and identity
- Made in Queensland, growing local and small business
- Advancing equitable economic participation
- Encouraging innovation, future jobs and sectors
- Fostering arts, culture and creativity
“This is a vision of what is possible and it is the first step on our legacy journey,” the plan said. “As we move collectively towards the Games, we will also need the energy, participation and commitment of our diverse communities and vibrant businesses to bring Elevate 2042 to life. This way we can ensure we make the most of the very special opportunity to shape our future the Games provides to all of us.
“Whilst the legacy from the Games can do many things, it cannot do everything. Creating a clear and compelling view of future success specific to our context and community will be the starting point for legacy planning, setting out what we want to achieve and where to focus our endeavours to provide the greatest opportunities for transforming lives.”
Queensland’s approach to Brisbane 2032 reflects a changing ethos of hosting the Olympics. Historically, being a host country has been mostly about construction and redevelopment — now the emphasis is on using existing structures and promoting sustainability.
How Will LA28 Revenue Split, Athlete Quota Work With Added Sports?
With five new sports being added for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) are worried about how they may impact the revenue split and the total athlete quota of 10,500.
“In October, the [IOC] Session approved five additional sports for the LA28 Olympic Games, which are baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash, implying record numbers of sports and athletes for this edition,” the ASOIF said. “The decision has raised several questions among ASOIF members, including, but not limited to the International Federation (IF) Olympic revenue share (as of LA28) and Games delivery. During its meeting, the Council agreed to raise these urgent matters with the IOC leadership.”
There will be 32 sports at the Paris 2024 Olympics, four of which are new and therefore not yet eligible for television revenue shares. But at LA 2028, sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing and joining the permanent lineup, bringing the total number of federations receiving a slice of the television revenue to 31.
There were only 26 sports at the London 2012 Olympics and 28 at Rio 2016. The increase in sports has come as total television revenue has remained relatively stagnant over the past decade. The pot was raised from $520 million to $540 million from 2012 to 2016, but it stayed the same for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. However, federations are anticipating a bump next year thanks to NBC’s new television contract.
As for the total quota, the new sports are expected to add 742 more athletes to the LA 2028 Olympics. That could impact sports sending large numbers of athletes such as track and field and swimming.
Paris 2024 Resolves Judging Tower Dispute for Surfing in Tahiti
Paris 2024 Olympic organizers reached a compromise with the Tahiti government to reduce the size of a planned 46-foot-tall aluminum tower that environmentalists said would damage the local coral reef beyond repair.
The new tower will still be made of aluminum, but roughly the same size as the current wooden one. A “leaner” design without an undersea pipe for drinking and wastewater will help minimize drilling and installations on the corals.
The new tower will be used in competitions for at least the next decade.