Opinion: How Brisbane’s venues and attractions will mix it with world’s best

As Brisbane prepares to take its place on the Olympic and Paralympic podium, we must seize the opportunity to showcase our world-class attractions, writes Luke Fraser.

Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves

As a lifelong footy fan of the Lions and Broncos, celebrating sporting events like the recent grand finals has always brought with it fond memories (even in the face of a loss).

These major events not only bring the joy of celebrating athletic achievements, but also provide a unique opportunity to showcase the beauty and hospitality of your city and country to new audiences.

As Brisbane prepares to take its place on the Olympic and Paralympic podium as a global city in 2032, we must seize the opportunity to showcase our world-class restaurants, natural wonders, vibrant history, thriving arts and culture scene and recognising and celebrating our Indigenous cultures and shared history to the world.

Not to mention how fortunate we are to be surrounded by natural wonders, including the unrivalled Maiwar as it is traditionally known by local First Nations People, or Brisbane River as it is possibly more usually known – there is an opportunity before us to lay the foundations to create a global city without losing our local charm.

We are deeply fortunate this country is home to the longest continuing cultures on the planet, with rich history, ceremony, cultural knowledge, story telling, connection to and care of Country.

Ensuring that First Nations people and their businesses are supported to thrive is critical. That’s why at Howard Smith Wharves we recently partnered with the Independent Indigenous Tourism Operators of Queensland because we have a shared vision of making a positive impact on the tourism and hospitality sectors – one that ensures Indigenous businesses benefit from their cultural stewardship, entrepreneurship and the dollars that come into the state, especially when 2032 arrives and its legacy beyond.

Celebrating and embracing our history must be a daily practice, one where we engage, actively listen and learn from elders and youth, one that brings us closer and connects one another, and one where we can engage with and be proud of and promote First Nations culture and knowledge as we work, live and play around our city. If we can achieve this, Meanjin (Brisbane) and Australia will be better for it.

At a practical level, we need to focus our collective attention now on how to best prepare Brisbane for this momentous sporting event. If we look at some of the recent hosts of the Olympics and Paralympics including London, Tokyo and Paris in 2024, they all had extensive public transport networks, an abundance of established hotels and accommodation and a suite of experience offerings already under way.

The view from Ciao Papi at Howard Smith Wharves

With that in mind, we need to think innovatively about what Brisbane can achieve on the runway to 2032, to ensure we too offer as compelling an experience as any other host of the games – but in our own unique Brisbane way!

Addressing accommodation and transportation access as well as easing the strain on our roads by increasing walkability with transport corridors and connecting hubs will undoubtedly improve the experience for our visitors and leave a legacy for our residents.

Unlocking the potential of the Brisbane River can also help us to expose Brisbane’s potential. Is the river our untapped super power? A natural highway connecting key hubs of the city, we can use this to our advantage to alleviate pressure on our roads and provide an experience for visitors that can easily compete with a sunset cruise of the Seine or Thames.

This natural highway can also extend to its airspace. With the likes of companies such as Archer Air making huge leaps forward in electric aerial ridesharing, I can imagine a day when locals and visitors are connecting to our precincts throughout the city via the air.

While the world will be coming to our door and staying for longer than they ever have, Brisbane is also the doorstep to a vast and dynamic state. Ensuring we provide visitors with a good first impression will play a crucial role in subsequent travel and adventures beyond Brisbane. A win for Brisbane is a win for Queensland.

Whether it’s trips to Stradbroke Island, the Great Barrier Reef, the Birdsville Track, Mount Isa, Bundaberg or down to the Gold Coast, we need to ensure we work closely with our regions so they too benefit from a thriving capital city.

We must activate collaborative partnerships that provide economic, social and environmental opportunities for us to succeed. And we need to ensure we have clarity and visibility around regulations and processes so that we can help and not hinder these ideas. We need to create as much space as possible for innovation, while ensuring the appropriate checks and balances remain.

Since the establishment of Howard Smith Wharves five years ago, we are absolutely committed to innovating and doing our part in contributing to the future of Brisbane by creating a world-class city experience at our precinct and beyond.

In the blink of an eye 2032 will be before us and we will be proud to welcome the world in, and hopefully celebrate our sporting achievements as a city with a bag of gold medals up our sleeve. But I’m sure we will be even more proud if we seize this unique opportunity to create a legacy that transcends the games and “wins gold” around the world for generations to come.

Luke Fraser is Howard Smith Wharves CEO

Originally published as Opinion: How Brisbane’s venues and attractions will mix it with world’s best