Brisbane Olympics: We're Not Dreamin'
A preliminary feasibility study says we can do it. The AOC has given us its blessing. And this month, hot on the heels of Rio, Southeast Queensland’s 11 councils will decide whether to tip in more funds to bankroll the next step.
Of course, we are talking about Brisbane’s pursuit of the Olympic dream, our proposed bid to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Could we, should we, would we? We’ve been grappling with these questions and we’ve finally decided to nail our colours to the mast.
Yes, is the short answer. Provided we go in with realistic expectations for what the world’s apex sporting event would mean for Brisbane. We need to understand why we would do it, what benefits it could practically deliver, and how we would get the most out of it, socially and economically.
Always the arguments in favour of mounting an Olympic bid centre around promised economic benefits – the spur for infrastructure investment and the expected tourism windfall resulting from such intense international exposure. Our instincts were to agree with this reasoning.
But the truth is, despite a lot of studies, the jury is still out on whether the economic argument stacks up. It depends. There are a few former hosts that have reaped tangible economic benefits (Barcelona comes to mind, LA and probably Sydney), but there are many more that haven’t.
Over the years, the Olympic quest seems to have turned into such an extravagant business, all about power, one-upmanship and winning at all costs, traits we’d have to say don’t sit well with most Australians. Bidders and host cities tend to be swept up in the hype, promising much more than they can afford or than is even needed.
Beijing spent around $59 billion on the 2008 Summer Olympics, and Russia spent an eye-watering $68 billion on the Sochi’s 2014 Winter Olympics. We doubt they really got their money’s worth.
This year in Rio, there was some focus on such issues, as we saw a struggling economy present an event estimated to be worth a much more modest $20 billion. Let’s hope the realisation that the Olympics shouldn’t be a spending race, plus the long-overdue exposure of state-supported doping, will begin the reality check.
The focus has already shifted to cutting costs and making Olympic Games more sustainable. We reckon Brisbane is the perfect place to return the focus to the core Olympic values – excellence, friendship and respect – or as we Aussies might prefer to describe them, resourcefulness, mateship and a fair go.
The ‘pre-feasibility study’ initiated by SEQ’s 11 local authorities pointed to a range of advantages that would underpin our bid: by 2028, we’ll have four international airports (Brisbane, Toowoomba, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast), and a spectacular new stadium in the city courtesy of the $2 billion Brisbane Live proposal over Roma Street Station.
We already have several suitable venues, such as a spectacular new velodrome, that will be in place for the Gold Coast’s 2018 Commonwealth Games. And of course our weather, safety, and amazing location blending modern cities, beaches, waterways and rainforests, are huge pluses.
But we still need better transport, roads and communications. These are things we are already crying out for anyway, so if it takes an Olympics bid to be the catalyst for critical infrastructure, we’re all for it.
The total cost of staging the Sydney 2000 Olympics was reported at $6.5 billion. The Federal Government contributed $194 million, the private sector $1.3 billion and the NSW Government $2.3 billion. Just think what that sort of investment, in today’s dollars, could do for Brisbane and SEQ.
We would urge that it go primarily towards well-planned assets and infrastructure upgrades that we need and will continue to use, not what have been termed ‘vanity construction projects’, that end up being white elephants. Sydney did it well. Olympic Park has become a thriving commercial, residential, sporting and events hub.
There is another reason why we think the time is right for Brisbane to put its hand up for the Olympics. It’s about the signals it sends to the world when you decide to bid for an event – self-esteem, spirit and confidence.
We can talk ‘til we are blue in the face about being a new ‘world city’, but that doesn’t necessarily make it true. A city isn’t a ‘world city’ unless there is international consensus about the city’s global reputation. Sydney is a ‘world city’, no doubt about it. But does Brisbane really have an international reputation? Probably not yet.
Hosting the Olympics could, not unlike it was for Seoul, be a sort of ‘coming out party’, formally making our debut on the world stage after completing a raft of transformational developments.
By 2028, we will be a different city, with Queen’s Wharf (including five new hotels), the country’s best runway system thanks to Brisbane Airport’s massive $3.8 billion redevelopment, the Howard Smith Wharves and Brisbane Quarter precincts, promised Brisbane Metro high speed subway system, and Brisbane Live, which could be our answer to New York’s Madison Square Gardens.
So, we would urge SEQ’s 11 councils to take that next step to fund the full feasibility study, expected to cost up to $2.5 million. And, if we make it to formal bid stage, we also need to be prepared for the cost. The contenders for 2024 (Paris, Rome, Budapest, LA) are apparently each spending around $US50 million on their bid.
But we say it is worth the gamble. With our brilliant location, world-beating cleanliness, safety and security factors, low terrorism threat, and Sydney’s track record behind us, we would have to be a fair bet.
Brisbane Airport Corporation and Infrastructure Partnerships Australia have both said a bid would help generate economic confidence in Queensland. A Galaxy poll published in the Courier Mail indicated 62% support a bid to host the Games, compared with 30% opposed and 8% undecided.
It will be up to us to make sure we reap the benefits. The important thing is to be absolutely sure the reality of our Games matches the branding and promotion that goes out to the world. No good being party-central, if visitors don’t feel safe to go out. No good having architectural wonders like the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube, if you can’t see them through the smog.
Brisbane’s Olympics will be ‘fair dinkum’. If anyone can show the world how to host an Olympics without artifice or ostentation, we can. And, if you need anymore convincing we should do this, perhaps the arrogance of Melbourne’s Lord Mayor will invoke your inner ‘Queenslander’.
He was recently quoted in the Australian Financial Review as saying: “This is the Olympics and therefore, there’s also an element of cachet about the city that is particularly important. Nowhere in the world has heard of south-east Queensland.”
Really? We’ll see about that.
