Editorial: Tale of two Olympic cities might end badly for Brisbane

There are growing concerns Brisbane will fail to live up to the incredible honour bestowed upon it, writes the editor.

Our Olympic reporting today covers two very different themes.

In our 12-page Olympic print wrap, we have all the Games news from Paris. It is early days, but it looks very much as if one of the world’s great cities is putting on one of the greatest events ever.

Of course, it is helped by the fact that our Australian team had its best first day ever, with Queensland’s Ariarne Titmus winning “The Race of the Century” in the 4x100m, and our 4x100m freestyle relay team (all Queenslanders) also storming to victory.

And on the damp streets of the City of Light, cyclist Grace Brown absolutely dominated to win the time trial gold.

The locals scored a surprise gold in the rugby sevens in front of 70,000 screaming Frenchmen and women at the Stade de France, while on the other side of the world in Tahiti (which is actually part of France) the surfing event began in possibly the most spectacular location that has ever hosted an Olympic event.

This is an Olympics as it should be, but as The Courier-Mail reports today, there are growing concerns that Brisbane will fail to live up to the incredible honour we were bestowed when we were announced as hosts of the 2032 Games.

The two men expressing their misgivings today are not prone to exaggeration or overstatement.

Former Brisbane lord mayor Graham is famously taciturn, but his annoyance seems to be growing after he was commissioned to write a review of Brisbane Olympic venues, only to have it ignored by Premier Steven Miles.

Mr Quirk compared the cities of Paris and Brisbane.

“We are in a different position to the Londons and the Parises and Beijings where these cities’ names are known in every household around the world – Brisbane’s is not,” he said.

“This is our chance to show the world that’ll be wondering about this place called Brisbane, what we really look like, what we are. The things that we portray in these games will be critical to our very long-term success.”

Mr Quirk said that Brisbane needed to be “careful not to get caught up in the immediate … becoming so obsessed with cost that we lose the plot”.

He might be too late on that one, with current planning having Brisbane 2032 athletics hosted at a venue that looks as though it could be used in the remake of Chariots of Fire.

Meanwhile, The Courier-Mail Olympics reporter Julian Linden sat down with legendary middle-distance runner Sebastian Coe, now the head of World Athletics.

Choosing his worlds carefully, Coe spoke about the importance of legacy, both for athletes and for locals, especially when deciding on a main stadium.

“Ideally (it would be) a permanent venue that is able to stage world-class athletics and serve as an inspirational hub both for coaching and administrative purposes, post the Games,” the two-time Olympic gold medallist said.

He conceded that every Games organiser had to make sensible savings wherever they could, but added a proviso.

“But don’t let that be about the athletes, don’t nickel and dime the athletes. That is really shortsighted,” he said.

Shortsighted. It perfectly sums up Brisbane’s approach to 2032, especially this year.

We just hope the buzz of Paris inspires Mr Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli to stop playing dumb.

SIGN UP NOW TO SAVE LIVES

A new scheme to boost the number of Queenslanders who are organ donors has met with immediate success.

Since July 22, people renewing their driver's licences have been prompted to register as donors.

More than 600 people signed up in a week.

The measure was taken as Queensland lags behind the rest of the country in donation rates – a paltry 31 per cent. South Australia leads the way with 73 per cent of people willing to donate to save a life after their passing.

The good news comes as new figures published by The Courier-Mail today revealed 50 Australians died while on waiting lists for a transplant last year.

That just isn’t good enough.

As part of DonateLife week, the Organ and Tissue Authority is encouraging every current donor to try to bring a friend across to the register.

“If every person who is registered to be a donor encouraged one friend to register,(it) would mean about 240 more people would receive a lifesaving transplant each year,” OTA chief executive Lucinda Barry said.

If you would like to sign up to save a life now, just scan the QR code on page 19 and fill out the online form.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: Tale of two Olympic cities might end badly for Brisbane