PSA: Brisbane Could Be Bringing the Olympics Back to Australia in 2032

Time to start training.

After an announcement made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it’s looking like Brisbane could be the host of the 2032 Olympic Games.

Essentially, the committee has decided that Brisbane is the most preferred location for the games.

But before you start packing your bags 11 years in advance, please note that it’s not quite confirmed yet. It just means that the City of Brisbane can now negotiate the terms of hosting the game with the committee.

"According to the clear report of the Future Host Commission, the Brisbane 2032 project is fully aligned with Olympic Agenda 2020 and the new recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020+5," IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement.

"It proposes sustainable Games in line with the region’s long-term strategy and using primarily existing and temporary venues.

"The commitment of Australia and Oceania to Olympic sports has grown remarkably since the fantastic Olympic Games Sydney 2000."

Why Brisbane? Well, the motivation to go with the city is actually down to a few reasons, as the IOC outlines.

Firstly, according to the IOC, Brisbane has a pretty advanced Games concept in which they can use 80 to 90 per cent of already existing or temporary venues.

Brisbane has also already discussed a 'venue masterplan' with the International Sports Federations and the International Paralympic Committee.

As we know, Oz has awesome weather conditions. In particular, Brisbane has decent climate conditions between July and August, and the city also has a high level of experience in hosting major international sporting events.

Because we did such a good job hosting in Sydney back in 2000, Australia is considered a top-notch place to hold the Olympics.

Brisbane also has a heap of existing transport infrastructure, traffic management and hotel accommodation that can meet the high demands of a potential Olympic games.

There is also massive support from the City of Brisbane, the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors, the State of Queensland, the federal government and the public and private sector.

Finally, Australia has received high scores in the human development indices, so much so that they’re on track to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

So, while we're not yet confirmed to host the games, we do have a pretty good case against other candidate cities.

In particular, Brisbane is up against Doha (Qatar), Budapest (Hungary) and potentially North and South Korea.

Now that Australia has its foot in the door, the IOC will move on to some more targeted discussions, and then final negotiations before an exact city is officially announced. This will likely take about a year.

If Brissy wins the title, it will become the third Australian city to host the Summer Games after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for QLD.

Header Image: Nick Wilson via Getty Images