Olympics opening ceremony clash would force first date change in Ekka history

A change in Ekka dates because of a southeast Queensland Olympic Games would mean the country show circuit and strawberry sundae fans would have to adjust their schedules.

THE timing of the Ekka would be changed for the first time in its history if southeast Queensland succeeded in securing the Olympics.

Hosting the Games would also mean moving the winter school holidays and readjusting the fixtures schedule for the various football codes.

The feasibility report into mounting a bid suggested the most likely dates for a 2032 Games would be from August 13-29.

The Paralympics would be staged from October 5-17.

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The Royal Queensland Show is scheduled to take place from August 6-15 in 2032, which would create a clash between the final weekend and the opening ceremony and first days of Olympic competition.

It is also expected that the RNA Showgrounds could be used as a venue for some Games events.

The timing of the Ekka would be changed for the first time in its history.

If the Ekka dates were moved, it would be the first time since the first Exhibition was staged in 1876.

RNA chief executive Brendan Christou said: “The Olympics is the biggest event in the world and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for southeast Queensland.

“If the bid were to be successful, there could be a date clash with Ekka, so we would consider options for accommodating the Olympics.

“It would depend on the final Olympic dates as to how big a shift the RNA would need to consider for the Ekka. We would also need to consider the impact that shifting Ekka would have on the Queensland Country Show circuit.”

The Olympics are held in the northern hemisphere summer months to maximise the global broadcast audience outside of other regular sports seasons.

In September or October, the Olympics would face competition from the start of the NFL American football season, the Major League Baseball playoffs in the United States and the soccer season in Europe.

While they were staged as late as October in the 1960s, and the Sydney 2000 Games were held in September, the International Olympic Committee preference is to have them earlier.

The IOC stipulated that bidders for the 2020 Olympics, won by Tokyo, must hold the event between July 15 and August 31.

August is considered the ideal time in Queensland. Winter is coming to a close and the average temperature ranges from 11C to 23C, with rain on just 3.7 days of the month on average.

Changing the Ekka dates would also affect the show circuit.

The terms of the school year in Queensland, and possibly other states around the country, would also need to be reorganised to accommodate an Olympics.

Organisers would want school holidays to coincide with the Games period to reduce school traffic on roads and to boost the opportunity for locals to attend competition and help fill venues.

The Olympic dates would also clash with the NRL, AFL and rugby union seasons.

Venues such as Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium and the Gold Coast’s Cbus Stadium would be key locations for Olympic sports such as soccer.

The Courier-Mail understands some venues, possibly including The Gabba, would be quarantined from the pool of Olympic venues to be used for domestic events and some Brisbane Broncos and Gold Coast Titans fixtures would be staged in regional centres.

NRL chairman Peter Beattie said: “We did it with the Commonwealth Games. We did it and the AFL did it.

“The Gold Coast Titans played St George-Illawarra Dragons in Toowoomba and took on the Manly Sea Eagles in Gladstone.

“All the major sports would work in co-operation,” Mr Beattie said. “It’s been done before and we would do it again.”

Originally published as Olympics opening ceremony clash would force first date change in Ekka history