Successful 2032 Olympic Games bid will deliver Queensland $170m in publicity in 24 hours
If successful, Queensland will begin raking in millions of dollars from the minute the decision on the Olympics bid is announced with the Sunshine State the new centre of the sporting world.
SEQ Olympics 2032
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Queensland will reap more than $170 million in free global publicity in the first 24 hours alone if Brisbane is announced as the 2032 Olympics host in Tokyo tonight.
As the countdown to the International Olympic Committee decision enters its final hours, The Courier-Mail can also reveal exclusive details of southeast Queensland’s high-stakes pitch for the life-changing sporting spectacular.
It is understood Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will use her speech during the 40-minute presentation due to start at 5pm to talk up Queensland’s climate and optimism, including referring to how we like to say that this state is “beautiful one day and perfect the next”.
But she will go on to say that as amazing Queensland’s scenery is, its greatest asset is its people - from our First Nations people to our modern-day migrants and star Olympians.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will talk up Australia’s love affair with sport during his speech, and will reminisce about Cathy Freeman’s gold medal triumph in Sydney - and celebrate the fact one of our two flag bearers at the Tokyo opening ceremony is Indigenous (Patty Mills).
Mr Morrison will also refer to the bonds we have with “our Pacific family” - and the opportunity the Brisbane Games will give to athletes across Oceania.
AOC President John Coates will say the Brisbane Games will be “The Together Games” that will live up to the ideals of Olympism.
The vote itself will be taken immediately after the presentation, with IOC delegates asked to vote yes, no or abstain to the question: “Do you agree to elect Brisbane as the host of the Games of the XXXV Olympiad 2032?”.
Voting will be by secret ballot, and a simple majority of those that attend is all that is required.
IOC President Thomas Bach will announce the decision about 6.20pm, and if successful the Premier and Lord Mayor will then sign the host contract.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner will tell IOC delegates that Brisbane was named after an astronomer and has become a ‘rising star’ on the world stage, and securing the Olympics will fast-track its trajectory.
State Government figures reveal a massive and instant windfall for Queensland if, as widely expected, we get the Games.
Acting Premier Steven Miles said it was estimated that the worldwide exposure of securing the Olympics would be worth $174 million within 24 hours of the announcement.
“We made the decision to fight hard for the Olympics because we know the huge benefits the Games can deliver for Queensland,” he said.
“Our tourism industry has done it tough over the last 18 months. A win tonight will generate the kind of exposure that money can’t buy.
“If we’re successful, within 24 hours, millions of people around the world will be inundated with pictures of Queensland.”
Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the Games was worth a potential $8.1 billion to Queensland in the long-term but the state would gain an immediate boost as images of the state went viral on the back of a successful bid.
“We know if the IOC throws its support behind a 2032 Olympic Games tonight, a big winner will be Queensland tourism,” he said.
“Images of Queensland’s top destinations and our iconic natural attractions will be beamed around the world, reinvigorating demand for a world-class holiday in our state.”
Simone Waugh, the Queensland-based Australian boss of international advertising and PR firm Publicis Worldwide, leading Queensland-based who is the Managing Director of Publicis Worldwide in Australia, said the announcement alone provided priceless global exposure.
“This is a global announcement with unparalleled coverage on news outlets across every continent on the planet,” she said.
“It will be streamed into people’s homes around the world, not to mention online, print and other media. In advertising value alone, it could be more than $170 million.
“And then there are the intangibles that this opportunity provides, such as placing Brisbane and Queensland on the world map alongside the biggest global cities of the world like London, Paris and LA.
“This is the biggest event in the world and destination profile benefits will flow for years to come.”
Lord Mayor Schrinner, who is in Tokyo with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck to make the final pitch, will tell IOC delegates that Brisbane was primed to host the Olympics after narrowly missing out to Barcelona for the 1992 Games.
“Our first Olympic bid was in the 1980s when we aspired to host the 1992 Games,” Cr Schrinner will tell IOC delegates.
“Those Games went to Barcelona, a mid-size yet global city, like Brisbane. Like Barcelona then, we are an emerging city with relevant and growing infrastructure and international trade connections and appeal.”
Cr Schrinner will sell Brisbane as a ‘friendly, clean and green’ host city, with ‘game-changing’ projects being delivered today for the Olympics of tomorrow.
He will tell the IOC that Brisbane attracted nine million visitors in 2019 and is the gateway for tourists to explore the state’s many natural wonders.
“Queensland has everything – beaches, mountains, tropical rainforests, island resorts, coral reef, the world’s three biggest sand islands, rich farmland, a vast outback, rivers and lakes – all sun-kissed with a divine climate,” he will say.
Cr Schrinner will tell delegates how the proposed athletes village will be just six minutes from the city centre and within 20 minutes of 15 planned venues while his Council is already investing in game-changing projects, including a high-frequency electric vehicle public transport system.
“Looking at our plans for Brisbane is like peering into a city of the future, a friendly, clean and
green city that is growing faster than all its contemporaries across Australia,” Cr Schrinner will say.
“Brisbane was named after Major General Sir Thomas Brisbane, an astronomer who built
Australia’s first observatory that charted the stars of the Southern Hemisphere.
“We hope you and your colleagues will see Brisbane 2032 as the birth of a rising star in the
southern hemisphere and a star to be followed by mid-size cities around the world, carrying the message of hope and aspiration for their Olympic futures.”
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said winning the Olympics would be ‘gold’ for Queensland and help deliver major infrastructure in the same way as the 2018 Commonwealth Games did.
“I’ve viewed a successful Games as what happens off the sports fields as much as on,” he said.
Cr Tate said a winning bid could be the catalyst for projects including a long-awaited heavy rail extension from Varsity Lakes to Gold Coast airport, light rail from Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta and expanded superyacht and film production facilities.
“A successful bid is really just the mechanism to bring forward those projects,” he said.
“Southeast Queensland SEQ corner is already home to one-in-seven Aussies – my prediction is that this announcement will provide the platform for multi-billion dollar investment in major public infrastructure,” he said.
“These new roads, public transport systems, improved airports and increased community infrastructure will only boost the attractiveness of our region for Aussies looking to escape the big cities.
“We are already seeing huge interest in the coast, partly due to the rolling NSW-Victorian Covid lockdowns which are significantly impacting people‘s lifestyle decisions.
“When people think lifestyle, they think ‘Gold Coast’ so the secret is well and truly out.’’
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