It’s Brisbane’s Time To Shine As Olympics Arrive Down Under For A Third Time In A Sea Of Green And Gold

HOME OF THE 2032 OLYMPICS: Olympic golden girls Dawn Fraser and Sally Pearson, on top of the world in Brisbane last night as South-East Queensland erupted into a sea of green and gold. Photo Courtesy: Courier Mail.

It’s Brisbane’s Time To Shine As Olympics Arrive Down Under For A Third Time

With Tokyo about to move into full swing…how good is it to wake up this morning in the latest Olympic city, with images of Brisbane, the Gold Coast Coast and Sunshine Coast beamed around the world – the Olympics are coming down under for the third time.

Australia will become only the third country alongside Greece and the USA to host a third Olympics – with the Brisbane bid that includes the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, joining Melbourne and Sydney as the hosts of the 35^th Olympiad in 2032.

And Queensland “went bananas” last night when the IOC awarded the Games to the Queensland capital.

The news is front and centre in the Australian newspapers with the party splashed across all the mastheads – with Olympic swimming legend Dawn Frsser and hurdles golden girl Sally Pearson sharing the spotlight, just like swimmer Cate Campbell and proud indigenous basketball star Patty Mills will light up the Tokyo Main Stadium tomorrow night when they march in sharing flag duties to open gthe4 Games 32nd Games in the Japanese capital.

And for swimming it’s going to provide a huge fillip with Swimming-mad Queenslanders in Brisbane and South-East Queensland – the epi-centre of swimming in Australia now becoming the epi-centre of world sport.

Live sites on the Brisbane River, and on the beaches of the Gold and Sunshine Coasts attracted thousands of sports loving fans and families with spectacular fireworks displays heralding Australia’s third Games.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN: Olympic legends Dawn Fraser and Sally Pearson on top of the podium again in Brisbane – home of the Olympics.Photo Courtesy: Courier Mail.

It was special to share last night’s magical moment with my own family, my wife Suzie and our 2004 Olympic swimming gold and silver medallist Brooke Hanson and three of grandchildren as we joined families from all over the Gold Coast.

When we arrived at the Gold Coast Live site at the Kurrawa Surf Life Saving Club Brooke’s 2004 Athens team mate and triple Olympian (2000, 2004 and 2008) Adam Pine – himself a father of four – was working the sausage sizzle.

“Piney” who will spearhead Australia’s swimmers to the Paralympics next month then swapped his apron for his 2000 Olympic tracksuit to join Brooke and fellow Olympians Jo Fox (Gold in water polo in 2000) and Sara Carrigan (Olympic road cycling champion in 2004) and Glynnis Nunn (Olympic heptathlon gold medallist from 1984) as they all spoke about their amazing Olympic experiences.

Inspirations to the current and next generations of future Olympians sitting cuddled up in the crowd with their parents, their sights set already on joining that special Olympians Club.

And rest assured Tokyo Olympic co-captain Cate Campbell will have an extra spring in her step when she carries the Australian flag into the Main Stadium with basketball star Patty Mills.

Raised in Brisbane, Campbell has forged her four-time Olympic career in the “River City” as have so many members of the current Australian Olympic team – including her younger sister and triple Olympian Bronte.

And while there was wild celebrations in South-East Qld , members of the Australian team in the Tokyo Village were waiting with bated breath- cheering wildly when IOC president Thomas Bach announced that “the city that will host the Games of the 35th Olympiad is Brisbane.”

And with that wild scenes of celebration and fireworks exploded up and down the Queensland coast

OLYMPIC CITY ON FIRE: Brisbane, the River City, celebrating all it’s glory. Photo Courtesy: Courier Mail.

And celebrations will hot up in Brisbane today with a host of Olympians attending a celebration lunch hosted by the Property Council of Australia – featuring amongst a who’s who, including Dawn Fraser, Natalie Cook, Mark Stockwell, John Sumegi, Naomi Castle and Judy Hudson.

It was a proud moment for so many, but none more than the godfather of the Olympic movement in Australia, AOC President and IOC vice president John Coates saying Brisbane, Queensland and all Australians stand ready to deliver an Olympic and Paralympic Games that will repay the trust shown by IOC Members that Australia can deliver the world’s greatest sporting event to the very highest standard.

“This is a very proud day for Australia, make no mistake. I thank the IOC Members for their confidence. Brisbane 2032 is genuinely committed to serving the ideals of the Olympic movement,” said Coates.

“The Olympic Games in Brisbane will be in the most diligent, grateful and enthusiastic hands. And I make this commitment to the athletes of the world – we will provide you with an unforgettable experience.

“Of course, many of these athletes are the children of the world right now. Young people who will be glued to their television sets over the next two weeks as the great champions of the world compete here in Tokyo. Many Olympic dreams will be created here in Tokyo, thanks to the generosity of the people of Japan and the commitment of today’s Olympians.

GOLD FOR BULLETIN: The front page of the Gold Coast Bulletin. Photo Courtesy: Gold Coast Bulletin.

“Australia will welcome the world in 2032. South-East Queensland is Australia’s fastest growing region, offering a friendly and culturally diverse people with a passion for sport, first class sporting facilities, excellent transport and a commitment to put the world’s athletes at the centre of everything we do.

“Queensland’s climate, iconic beaches and environmental attractions makes our offering irresistible for athletes, families, friends and sports lovers.”

Mr Coates says what really excites him is the great opportunity for Australian children, for Olympic sports and the capacity of sport to meet the great challenges facing all communities.

“We can supercharge Australian sport to produce a new generation of Cathy Freemans and Kieren Perkins across the sporting landscape. A new generation of heroes to inspire young people. To promote healthy lifestyles and wellbeing. To meet the inter-generational challenges we face.

“A record number of proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander athletes, our First Nations people are representing their country in Tokyo this month. Imagine the possibilities for our Indigenous kids leading into 2032 and the positive impact of empowering young people now and for the period beyond the Brisbane Games.

Mr Coates thanked governments in Australia at all levels for the unprecedented cooperation which brought the Queensland ambition to life.

“Differences have been put aside to make this happen. To our Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Queensland Premier Anastacia Palaszczuk, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and the Council of Mayors South-East Queensland (COMSEQ), your unwavering support has seized this moment.

“Australians like to have a go. Six years ago, the Mayors of South-East Queensland did just that when they undertook a feasibility study into what the Games could mean for their region. With the support of the Queensland and Federal Governments that “have a go” moment has become an ambition realised.”

TIME TO SHINE: And the winner is….Brisbane. Photo Courtesy: Courier Mail.

The original thoughts sewn by celebrated Queensland Olympics writer Wayne Smith who convinced the then Lord Mayor of Brisbane, with a column in The Australian, that Brisbane “should have a go” and it was his foresight that lit the flame.

Of course, the starter’s gun has only just been fired and the real work now begins.

“Australia has a green and gold runway of major international events coming to our shores – the FIBA Women’s World Cup and UCI World Road Championship in 2022, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 – and we are hoping to secure the Rugby World Cup in 2027. Of course, you will see us in Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 – maintaining our proud record as one of only two countries whose athletes have participated in every modern Olympic Games,” reiterated Coates.

“Nine million Australians participate in Olympic sports. That number will keep growing. Brisbane 2032 is the beacon on the hill that will welcome the world in eleven years from now.”

Australia has been elevated into the storied ranks of nations to host three Olympics with the announcement that Brisbane will anchor a new-look Games in 2032 to make the world’s greatest sporting event affordable.

International Olympics Committee president Thomas Bach set off a night of Covid-defying celebration across southeast Queensland as exultant crowds cheered a 40-year campaign to bring the Games to Brisbane.

“The Games of the 35th Olympiad are awarded to Brisbane, Australia,” Mr Bach declared, as green and gold-coloured fireworks lit up the city skyline.”

The party started with a bang and will continue for the next 11 years as this sports loving nation continues an extraordinary legacy that started in Melbourne in 1956, continued so brilliantly in Sydney in 2000 that exploded in Brisbane and will continue throughout South East Queensland over the next decade as the Olympics comes alive down under – for a third time.

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