Brisbane Olympics: Candidates at the starting line

Two separate entities will be created within five months to oversee the decade-long preparation for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.

Brisbane’s proposed Olympics venues.

Two separate entities will be created within five months to oversee the decade-long preparation for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games and to guide the transformative infrastructure program needed to ensure its success.

Despite confirmation of Brisbane as the host city coming on Wednesday night, potential candidates to head the two bodies have been quietly jockeying for support for months, with a number of well-known civic and business leaders expected to view for key roles.

The Organising Committee, to be established within five months of the host contract being signed, will be the central body tasked with planning, organising, financing and staging the Games in accordance with the Olympic Charter.

The board of the tax exempt Organising Committee will consist of representatives from the federal and state governments, the Brisbane City Council, athletes and members of the International Olympic Committee.

A separate statutory authority, the Olympic Coordination Authority, will also be set up with federal, state and local government representatives and given the capacity to co-ordinate government departments and agencies on Games-related matters.

Former Queensland tourism minister Kate Jones and ex-NRL boss Todd Greenberg are tipped to be in the running for the role of chief executive of the Organising Committee, while former Queensland premier Peter Beattie and former Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk have been suggested as potential chairs.

Mr Beattie held a similar role for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

The Games are expected to support 130,000 direct jobs and generate an additional $20bn in international visitor spending, at a cost of about $5bn, to be split between the federal and state governments. Discussions to refine the details of the funding split are expected to begin immediately.

Infrastructure Association Queensland CEO Priscilla Radice said the IOC’s “New Norm” approach – aiming at reducing the cost of the Games by incorporating existing infrastructure – meant all three levels of government could deliver long-term ­outcomes for South East Queensland.

“Aside from the tremendous benefits that will flow from the event itself, the Games are the catalyst needed to activate planning and delivery of the critical infrastructure our growing state needs to stay connected and maintain equitable living in the 21st century and beyond,” Ms Radice said. “In turn this will build business confidence, attract new investment, drive sound economic growth, enhance our global brand and bring more investors and visitors to the whole of Queensland.”

About 90 per cent of the venues to be used for the Games already exist and others have already been guaranteed as part of the future needs of the growing region.

The Brisbane submission has a planned budget of $690m to be spent on Games-specific venues.

Further money is expected to come from other funding streams, including the private sector or from regular government spending on future infrastructure.

The Gabba cricket ground in inner Brisbane will be demolished and rebuilt as ceremony and athletics venue for an estimated $1bn and the proposed Brisbane Live entertainment precinct near Roma St is the frontrunner to host the swimming.

A main Olympic village will be built in Brisbane, complemented by smaller villages on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, with total capacity of 16,300.

After the Games, the villages will be used for social housing, hotels and market housing.

The under-construction Brisbane Metro busway and Cross River Rail transport systems will be fully operational by 2032, and regional mayors who first raised the prospect of the Games have been lobbying for fast-rail connections to the Gold and Sunshine coasts and Toowoomba.