TSBE, Toowoomba Regional Council to create report into 2032 Olympic Games opportunities
Equestrian, mountain biking, target shooting and even football are among the Olympic events being targeted by a new report that will explore Toowoomba’s hosting options for the 2032 Games.
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Toowoomba’s political and economic leaders have supercharged efforts to ensure the city gets a slice of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
A new upcoming report, to be completed by lobby group Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise with help from an officer at the council, will identify opportunities for the region to host Olympic events with existing or new infrastructure.
Some of the events to be explored will include equestrian, mountain biking, target shooting and even football.
It comes after Brisbane and southeast Queensland were revealed as the preferred host for the 2032 Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee will vote on the matter next month.
TSBE CEO Ali Davenport said the report would also explore whether the region could provide support with more ancillary services for the games.
“We’d love a sport, and we don’t know what sport is going to be suitable for us, so we need to investigate that,” she said.
“Contenders would be equestrian, mountain biking and potentially shooting.
“There are other opportunities for us as well — we could be an import site and quarantine site for horses, or a region that hosts the drug-testing facilities.
“Right now we’re speculating on the opportunities, but what we’re going to do is understand exactly what our opportunities are and what we need to do to improve so we are the chosen spot for those sporting bodies.”
The council this week endorsed an officer to complete a secondment at TSBE to help complete the report.
Mayor Paul Antonio said the report was essential to ensuring the region kept pace with other local governments, admitting Toowoomba would face stiff competition.
“I sit with a group of mayors (in southeast Queensland) and they are so active and so prepared,” he said.
“We have this amazing organisation called TSBE, which has done a wonderful job in health, agriculture and business and they will lead this investigation.
“We will go for anything we can get – we’re a little bit away from the centre of the whole activity, but it’s not just about the Olympic events.”
The report is expected to be done by the end of 2021.
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