Brisbane 2032 Olympics to show regions to the world

Premier David Crisafulli has vowed to avoid a repeat of Victoria’s Commonwealth Games debacle, despite spreading the Olympics throughout Queensland.

Premier David Crisafulli has vowed to avoid repeating the mistakes of the infamous ­regional Victoria Commonwealth Games debacle, ­despite unveiling a 2032 Olympics program with medal events earmarked for Mackay, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and even Maryborough.

Regional Queensland was one of the big winners out of the state government’s ambitious Brisbane 2032 blueprint but, with events slated to stretch for almost 2000km from Cairns to the Gold Coast, organisers face an Olympian logistical challenge, with the ghosts of Victoria’s abandoned 2026 regional-focused Commonwealth Games still fresh in the memory.

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While Paris hosted Olympic surfing in the French Polynesian territory of Tahiti, the ­distance from the Gold Coast to Cairns is further than that of London to Poland, underscoring the vast challenge of delivering a statewide Games.

Victoria sensationally walked away from its Commonwealth Games commitment with a budget blowout in taking sports to regional centres largely blamed for the event’s demise, but Mr Crisafulli said he would not make the same mistakes.

“Dan Andrews (former ­Victorian premier) completely scrapped the blueprint and said they would make the ­entire Games regional – that’s not what we’re suggesting,” he said.

The Glennie School equestrian captain Eloise Kings with Fioretti. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“We’re suggesting about making sure we can play to people’s strength (and) the overwhelming majority of the events are here and we’re not trying to change that.

“But I don’t accept that the opportunity to show a world-class foreshore in Townsville and the Whitsundays is not something we should grab.

“I think there’s something in that.

“I want Queenslanders to see that there’s going to be benefit for every part of the state out of this and, if we do it right, everything from the grassroots improvement through the Games on, through to generational infrastructure like a new stadium, can make it a better place.”

There were plenty of predictable regional winners, such as the Gold Coast hosting almost a dozen events including the late addition of hockey, and Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium proposed to host soccer, but there have been some major mould breakers too.

The eyes of the world are set to descend on the communities of Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Mackay and even Maryborough, which has been flagged as a potential site for archery.

Toowoomba Showgrounds will receive a major upgrade to host equestrian events, while the sight of sailing fleets racing through the Whitsundays will deliver the sort of classic ­tourism images better than any advertising campaign.

Treasurer and Member for Toowoomba South David Janetzki speaking after Toowoomba was announced as the host for equestrian events in the 2032 Olympics.

Rockhampton has emerged as a controversial choice for rowing and the crocodile-infested Fitzroy River is set to come under heavy scrutiny from global officials when they visit the region in May.

Sunshine Coast Stadium has long been earmarked as an Olympic venue for soccer, but a new athletes village is also set to be built at Maroochydore.

In addition to soccer, Townsville is also likely to secure some sailing events, with images of the iconic Magnetic Island sure to captivate global audiences.

Barlow Park in Cairns would receive a major upgrade to potentially host soccer, while the city could also host cricket if the sport is retained for Brisbane after making its return in LA after an absence of more than a century.

Cricket could also be played in Mackay, with a major upgrade planned for the city’s Harrup Park.

Brisbane Organising Committee president Andrew Liveris said the Brisbane Games would have a similar proportion of events outside the main host city as London and Paris (27 per cent), with about a quarter of events in 2032 earmarked for regions beyond the Brisbane-Gold Coast-Sunshine Coast urban sprawl.

Plans for a world-class 7000-seat games arena, athletes’ village and five-star hotel on the Sunshine Coast

Originally published as Brisbane 2032 Olympics to show regions to the world