‘Brisbane River can be cleaned up for 2032 just like the Seine’

The man who oversaw the massive clean-up of the Seine for the Paris Olympics says Brisbane needs to make its iconic river the hero of the 2032 Games.

Bella McGrath and Charlotte Baker enjoy Brisbane’s Riverwalk at New Farm. Picture: Richard Walker

The man who oversaw the massive clean-up of the Seine for the Paris Olympics says Brisbane must wrangle its “Brown Snake” to make the city’s iconic river the hero of the 2032 Olympics.

And Benjamin Raigneau, the University of Queensland-educated head of sanitation and water for the City of Paris, says Brisbane could even follow Paris’ lead in making its polluted river swimmable – although he admits the bull sharks might be a problem.

He also said Queensland Olympics organisers should not rule out using the Brisbane River for the 2032 Games opening or closing ceremonies, as Paris did.

WATCH THE FUTURE BRISBANE LIVESTREAM THIS FRIDAY ON OUR WEBSITE

Mr Raigneau headed the $2.3bn clean-up of the Seine, where swimming had been banned for more than 100 years because of pollution but which hosted the Olympic triathlon and open water swimming events.

He will detail the ambitious project in an online presentation to the International Rivers Symposium in Brisbane this week, discussing how Olympic city rivers can be restored to create a legacy for future generations.

Speaking to The Courier-Mail from Paris, Mr Raigneau said the Olympics had enabled the decades-long Seine restoration to be fast-tracked “in a way we could not even imagine”.

This story is part of The Courier-Mail’s annual Future Brisbane series advocating for a focus on the right legacy outcomes from the hosting of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. You can read all our coverage here

The project included dramatically improving Paris’ wastewater treatment to reduce pollutants to less than 1 per cent and boosting storage to reduce overflow during heavy rain.

Despite a number of athletes falling seriously ill after the Paris Olympic triathlon, Mr Raigneau said three permanent swimming areas in the Seine would open next year.

Athletes compete in the women's individual triathlon at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

He said the Olympics-inspired clean-up was a joint effort between the City of Paris, French government and stakeholders including cities upstream, and had given the Seine back to the people.

“There is no reason for Brisbane not to be able to do what we’ve done,” he said.

“I don’t know the situation with the river exactly, but I’m really confident you can do the same or even better.

“In terms of pollution, I’m really confident that they are able to do what we’ve done.

“The situation is probably better because the city (Brisbane) is not as dense as Paris, so I’m really confident that by bringing people together, you can really make a huge change in the quality of the river.”

Swimming is not recommended in the Brisbane River because of high pollution and deadly bull sharks.

Asked about the possibilities of making the Brisbane River swimmable, Mr Raigneau said there were no bull sharks in the Seine, but shark-proof enclosures could be investigated.

Earlier this year, Greens lord mayoral candidate Jonathan Sriranganathan unveiled a bold $6m plan to clean up the river and make it swimmable by 2032.

Peak environment group Healthy Land and Water backed the idea, with CEO Julie McLellan saying it was not a silly vision that people could be swimming in the river by the Olympics.

Swimmable or not, Mr Raigneau, who studied political science at UQ in 2004, said Brisbane needed to make the river a star of the Games.

Sydney Olympics ringmaster Ric Birch, who was also director of entertainment at Brisbane’s historic World Expo in 1988, told The Courier-Mail this week he was not a fan of using the river for the Olympic ceremonies as Paris did.

“You miss the emotional heart and the emotional tension of an opening ceremony (in a stadium),” he said.

The Seine during this year’s Olympics opening ceremony

Mr Raigneau said the ceremonies venues were a matter for Queensland organisers but said the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine had made the city itself part of the show.

“It gave the ceremony not only to people on television and in the stadium but also to the people of the city, because everyone could come,” he said.

“It was a way to empower people to be part of it and it was a great experience, even though it was raining.

“It really launched the Games in the Parisian view of people living there.”

Mr Raigneau urged 2032 Olympics organisers to maximise the use of the Brisbane River for transport, events, imagery and to showcase Queensland’s laid-back outdoors lifestyle.

“I do think that the Brisbane River is a part of the identity of the city, because it just flows around all the neighbourhoods, so it’s a good way to connect,” he said.

“When I was there 20 years ago, there was already a CityCat going around on the river.

“I would say first you have to use it as a symbol of what Brisbane is and second (make) it part of the (Olympic) experience.

“What better way to illustrate the Brisbane way of life than doing barbies around the river and just enjoying it?

“The river is part of the identity of Brisbane, and what better idea than to use the Olympics to show the world who you are and what your signature is as a city?”

Teneriffe local Charlotte Baker said she would support a clean up of the river to provide the perfect backdrop to show off to the world.

“I do think the current state of the water does need to improved, however it has been much worse in previous year,” Ms Baker said.

“The general outskirts of the river is relatively clean though.

“I think it would be very wise for the government and council to spend money on upgrading the quality of the river ahead of the Games.”

A concept image by Urbis of the Brisbane River during the 2032 Olympics