Australia Chosen as Preferred Candidate for 2032 Olympics

The Olympic Cauldron is tested by fire crews at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Park in the Costal Cluster on January 27, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Brisbane has been chosen as the preferred candidate by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the 2032 Olympic Games.

The IOC will start exclusive negotiations, or the “targeted dialogue” stage, with Australian officials over hosting the games following the Future Host Summer Commission’s recommendation.

Chair of the commission, Kristin Kloster Aasen, advised on Wednesday that the Queensland government only needed to submit the documents and the required guarantees before the commission was able to formally recommend Brisbane as the 2032 Olympic host.

Although Aasen said that the bid was not the winner just yet, the plan proposed by Brisbane, Australia’s high level of hosting experience and strong support for the bid from government officials were the main reasons for the committee’s recommendation.

Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) Chief John Coates is more upbeat about the proposal saying  Brisbane’s bid is as good as a done after being awarded exclusive negotiation status.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called the news a “game-changer” for the state.

“This is a game-changer… it will put Brisbane firmly on the world map,” she said.

Qld Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and AOC President John Coates arrive at a press conference after IOC announced targeted dialogue for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games bid at Queensland Parliament House on February 25, 2021, in Brisbane, Australia. Jono Searle/Getty Images

Palaszczuk said the focus will now turn to tweaking the finer details for the bid.

“We have to now go down to the fine print and make sure that we’ve got all the funding lined up between all levels of government,” she said.

Palaszczuk emphasised that the Games would be able to use the existing sporting infrastructure built for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

She also said it would create a boom for the local economy and create around 130,000 jobs.

Coates said hosting the games would cost basically “nothing” for the state, with the IOC pledging A$2.5 billion (US$1.99 billion) and ticket sales and sponsorships covering other costs.

“The operating costs for these games is about $4.5 billion. The IOC contributes $2.5 billion,” Coates said. “Then you get your approximately $1 billion from national sponsorship and $1 billion from the ticketing.”

“That’s enough to pay for both the Olympic and the Paralympic Games without any call on the state or federal or local governments,” he said.

Today’s announcement comes to the disappointment of China, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, and Qatar, who all expressed their interest in hosting the 2032 games.

If negotiations conclude successfully, Brisbane will become the third Australian city to stage the games, after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.

The IOC may also face criticism over the fact that Coates is one of the heads of the Olympic Committee, holding the position of vice-president of the IOC. He also has a close relationship with IOC President Thomas Bach.

Bach insisted that Coates was not involved with the recommendation and that Brisbane was chosen due to its outstanding proposal.

“The commitment of Australia and Oceania to Olympic sports has grown remarkably since the fantastic Olympic Games Sydney 2000,” he said. “This is why we see such strong public support.”

“We decided to seize an opportunity to take to the next stage our discussions about returning 32 years later,” he said.