Opinion: On track for a successful Brisbane 2032 Games

The first year on the road to the Brisbane 2032 Games has been a productive one, and the city is set to rank alongside the world’s best, writes Andrew Liveris.

In two weeks’ time I will mark my first year anniversary in the role of president of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It has been a productive year, focused on the establishment of the organising committee and our priorities in developing our 10-year strategic plan.

We have built a team. We have recruited a top leader as our CEO, who is now in place and leading our inaugural employees across key work streams that are now up and running.

I recall stating in my first press conference that we would spend our early years listening to, and learning from, our colleagues on other organising committees, the community, industry and our Games delivery partners.

We have held true to this commitment, and “engagement” has been our mantra for the organising committee’s first year in operation.

This past year we have collectively met with more than 1100 people across other OCOGs the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees, First Nations peoples, industry, community, venue operators, Olympians, Paralympians and beyond.

We have made sure the centre piece we build around is athletes, para-athletes and sport.

We have received exceptional advice on how to set the organising committee up for success and how to deliver the Games in a commercially viable and fiscally responsible manner. We have consequently begun work on our key pre-Games marketing plans.

What people speak most passionately about is the catalytic legacy opportunity the Games offers.

Andrew Liveris

Beyond the physical infrastructure, other organising committees advised on the power of the Olympics and Paralympics to inspire change across communities and to accelerate towards an inclusive society that celebrates diversity in all its forms.

They have shared how the power of the Olympic Rings and Paralympic Agitos attracts new innovative industries, reshaping and uplifting economies using advanced manufacturing technology and circular economy models.

People have advised us on the chance to create healthier communities through inspired sport participation and how Brisbane 2032 legacy engagement initiatives can drive this ambition.

We listened to our First Nations peoples speak about the importance of recognising the value and opportunity that lies within 60,000 years of cultural heritage, and how it could be reflected in our planning and delivery. We must push past tokenism and invite people with lived experience to the table.

We will turn Brisbane into a global household name – one where Brisbane is mentioned, and respected, in the same breath as the greatest cities of the world.

Today with the Legacy Forum in front of us, now is the time to come together with our ambitions in-hand and author the Brisbane 2032 Legacy Plan that will showcase to the world what is possible in the 21st century, with the best of Brisbane, Queensland and Australia at its heart.

Our Games journey has well and truly begun.

Andrew Liveris is president of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee board