The “Elvis Games’’ could leave the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games in the shade
Paris 2024 and the Stade de France. LA 2028 and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Every Olympics is a silent prisoner of the Games before it – that spells trouble for Brisbane.
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Brisbane’s grand plan for the 2032 Olympics is a bit like coming on stage after Moulin Rouge and Elvis and singing “Give Me A Home Among the Gumtrees.’’
It’s true, there may not be a lot of gumtrees or plum trees around the proposed athletics venue QSAC Stadium – or even a sheep or two – but we can get our hands on an (extra large) kangaroo if we need one.
The supreme challenge for Brisbane – as if it needed another one – is that every Games is a silent prisoner of the Games before it.
One of the reasons Sydney 2000 shone so brightly was it’s glow seemed even more conspicuous when contrasted to the dark vibe of predecessor – Atlanta – which was one of the worst Games of modern times.
The challenge for cost-cutting Brisbane in producing the “Aldi Olympics’’ is that the two Games before it should be special. The bar will be intimidatingly high.
The list of venues or venue backdrops for this year’s Paris Games reads like a “things you must see while in Europe’’ tip list.
But if we drill down and simply talk athletics stadiums we spotlight on the hub of the issue.
Where Brisbane plans to spend its 10 day athletics program at QSAC Stadium (it’s up past Pet Barn and Baby Bunting on Kessels Road if you don’t know) France will make the most obvious choice of their Games by having athletics at its iconic Stade de France.
Built for the 1998 soccer World Cup, it is the largest stadium in France and hosted the world athletics championship in 2003, the 2007 and 2023 Rugby World Cups and any number of big concerts.
Then we have the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum which, incredibly, will become a three times host of the Games when the Olympics come to that city in 2028.
Built around a century ago to commemorate the US Armed Forces who served in World War 1, the venue trumpets itself as “the greatest stadium in the world.’’
It’s not. But it’s still very good. It hosted the Games in 1932 and 1984 and two Super Bowls and at various stages has been home to the Los Angeles Rams football team and the LA Dodgers baseball team.
US presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John F Kennedy have all been there along with Pope John Paul II and Nelson Mandela.
But, forgetting the history for a minute, the stadiums in Paris and Los Angeles have capacities of more than 70,000. the renovated QSAC is expected to stretch to just 40,000, making it the smallest Olympic athletics venue for almost a century.
If you thought demand for Taylor Swift tickets was big wait until you see the rush for those 40,000 tickets.
It will sound like a triumph but it is not. The venue should be bigger and no amount of gum tree – or plum trees – can make up for it.
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Originally published as The “Elvis Games’’ could leave the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games in the shade
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