Olympic Games 2032: Southeast Queensland bid imminent

A series of meetings between Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and other key figures is the first indication a southeast Queensland bid for the 2032 Olympics is in the offing.

PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk will meet Prime Minister Scott Morrison and AOC boss John Coates in Cairns next week as momentum builds for a southeast Queensland Olympics bid.

The meeting is the first of the Olympics bid leadership group, which also includes Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, and aims to nut out the way forward for securing the biggest sporting event in the world and the associated infrastructure it would deliver to the state.

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Ms Palaszczuk yesterday met with Mr Coates — working to identify existing southeast Queensland venues that could host Olympic events — ahead of meeting Mr Morrison and Cr Schrinner on the sidelines of the Council of Australian Governments in Cairns.

A spokesman for the Premier said she was working to make sure regional Queensland benefited from any Olympic bid, not just the southeast.

A spokesman for Mr Coates described the meeting as “useful” ahead of further work.

The Prime Minister’s representative for the 2032 Olympic Games, Member for Fairfax Ted O’Brien, said a united “Team Australia” approach was essential for winning the Games.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will meet with members of the Olympics bid leadership group.

Using an Olympics bid to help fast-track critical infrastructure needs in southeast Queensland was at the top of the action plan delivered during The Courier-Mail’s Future Tourism campaign in June.

Ms Palaszczuk has been invited to Switzerland in September to meet with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach and discuss a bid, that would require backing from all three levels of government: federal, state and local.

Mr Coates has said initial financial planning indicates the games will be cost-neutral to southeast Queensland.

The Council of Mayors estimates the operational budget of a southeast Queensland Games would be about $5.3 billion, but would be offset by a financial contribution from the International Olympic Committee of $2.6 billion and an anticipated $2.7 billion of revenue from sponsors, ticket sales and merchandise.

The Mayors and Australian Olympic Committee believe a decision on a bid should be made before next year’s Tokyo Games.

Originally published as Olympic Games 2032: Southeast Queensland bid imminent