Brisbane is ‘preferred bidder’ for 2032 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that Brisbane is the preferred candidate to host the 2032 Games and said it would enter “targeted dialogue” with bid organisers.

“The IOC future host commission recommended that the executive committee initiate a targeted dialogue with Brisbane and the Australian Olympic Committee for the organisation of the 2032 Olympic Games,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.

“The executive committee unanimously accepted this recommendation.”

Australia last hosted the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.

The bid would be for the Games to be held in the state of Queensland, with Brisbane as the hub.

There had been reported interest from India and Chinese city Shanghai, while Qatar last year confirmed it was planning to bid.

A potential joint bid between South and North Korea had also been touted, while Germany had also expressed its interest in holding the Games in the North Rhine-Westphalia region.

All those hopefuls were dealt a blow by the news on Wednesday, but Bach insisted the IOC had recorded “the interest of a number of parties”, although he did not identify them.

“It is not a decision against the other candidates, it is a decision in favour of a candidacy,” Bach said.

He clarified that no final decision on the host city had been made, but that “more detailed discussions” with Brisbane would start, although he gave no timetable.

The next IOC session will be held in March, with another scheduled for July.

Queensland state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said victory would help the region recover from the coronavirus pandemic, which has decimated the vital local tourist industry.

Overseas travellers have been mostly barred from entering largely Covid-free Australia for the last year.

“It would bring huge economic benefit and jobs as part of our economic recovery as we come out of Covid,” she told ABC radio.

“Most importantly, it gives us hope, it gives us something to look forward to. 2032 may be out in the distance — but (it’s) that firm light at the end of the tunnel.” (AFP)