Landmark proposal for Brisbane Olympic Games showcase

One of Queensland’s most prominent business leaders has proposed an eye-catching landmark to make Brisbane instantly recognisable around the globe ahead of the 2032 Olympics. VOTE IN OUR POLL.

A shining tower soaring high above the Brisbane CBD and visible from hundreds of kilometres away could become the shining beacon of Queensland’s coming of age as an Olympic city.

With Brisbane’s 2032 Games just 11 years away, business leaders have called for an iconic development to make the River City instantly recognisable around the globe as a defining legacy of bringing the Greatest Show on Earth to Queensland.

ASM Global’s Asia Pacific boss Harvey Lister, whose Brisbane Live project is set to become a game-changing development for the CBD, believes a tower rising up to 500m above the streets of Brisbane would become a landmark for not only the city, but also Australia in the same vein of the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower or the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

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Writing exclusively for The Sunday Mail today, Mr Lister said the tower, which would cost an estimated $500m to build, could serve as the world’s biggest Olympic torch in the countdown to the Games, with hi-tech light displays to celebrate everything from New Year’s Eve and Riverfire to State of Origin and even Brisbane Broncos victories.

ASM Global’s Asia Pacific boss Harvey Lister. Picture: Annette Dew

“This could be an opportunity that Brisbane can’t pass up,” he said.

“A functional landmark would be memorable in the lead-up to, and during the Olympic Games, drawing attention and investment to our state, but it would have a life after that for generations and generations.

“It needs to be something that is functional, sleek, stylish and modern – it can’t be just a fake edifice.

“It could be Brisbane’s Olympic torch pre-Games and, indeed, could be a stunning Olympic Flame.”

Mr Lister said the landmark would be tall enough to be seen from Toowoomba or the Sunshine Coast, but should not reach great heights simply for height’s sake.

He said the structure’s height could serve a useful purpose, such allowing television stations to relocate telecommunications infrastructure from Mt Coot-tha, allowing greater public use for the much-loved mountain.

“This will give Brisbane its mountain back – a lifelong value far higher than the cost of the single new transmission tower on steroids,” he said.

“On a fine day, this spectacular tower will probably be visible from Noosa in the north, Coolangatta in the south and from Toowoomba in the west.”

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Mr Lister, who said he was not suggesting he should be the one to head the ambitious project, is one of Queensland’s most distinguished business leaders, with ASM Global responsible for managing some of the world’s most iconic sporting stadiums and cultural venues.

He said the tower could sit next to the planned Brisbane Live precinct at Roma St and could be called “#1 Brisbane Grand Central Station”.

“The State Government could consider calling on some of our sharpest minds to assist in bringing this project to reality,” he said.

“It would be a natural for a public-private partnership that will ensure that taxpayer funds invested will be minimised.”

Mr Lister said the cost of the building would be a bargain considering the benefits to be delivered.

Apart from reclaiming more public space on Mt Coot-tha, Mr Lister said the tower could also become a tourism ambassador generating the kind of publicity money literally can’t buy.

“On world news reports of New Year’s Eve, they always show Australia and particularly Sydney, because we are one of the first places in the world past the international dateline,” he said.

“With the right engineering, Brisbane’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display each year from 500m above the ground would provide a spectacular vision that would be seen around the world.”

Mr Lister said LED light displays could be synchronised with Brisbane Live, which would include an 18,000-seat indoor arena slated to host the Olympic swimming, and other landmarks around Brisbane such as the bridges linking the CBD to South Brisbane.

He said any concerns about having a building so tall in the proximity of aeroplane flight paths could be easily circumvented, pointing to the 828m Burj Khalifa near Dubai’s international airport.

Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world.

“Their civil aviation authorities seem to be able to specify flight paths that didn’t require arriving or departing air traffic from flying right over the middle of its CBD,” he said.

“So maybe now is the time to have that hard conversation and see if this important project could elicit a more co-ordinated approach from the aviation authorities – something which we suspect the development industry of Brisbane would wholeheartedly support.”

The hunt for an epic landmark comes after JLL chief executive Stephen Conry last week penned an open letter encouraging architects and creative thinkers to get together to develop Brisbane’s “next big thing”.

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Having a new superstructure house telecommunications towers would give a tower a functional purpose as well as becoming an eye-catching centrepiece of the Brisbane CBD.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner have both publicly supported calls for a new landmark in the capital but want to avoid the creation of a white elephant.

Ms Palaszczuk is expected to direct the Office of Queensland Government Architect to explore what such a landmark could look like.

The city is already on the cusp of a generational transformation with a raft of major projects slated for the coming years.

The Brisbane Live development proposed for the city CBD. Picture: Supplied

The long-awaited Cross River Rail, a $6bn transformation of the city’s rail network, the $3bn Queen’s Wharf development, Brisbane Live and a massive makeover of the Gabba are all on the horizon as the city hurtles towards its shot at Olympic glory.

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Originally published as Landmark proposal for Brisbane Olympic Games showcase