The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced overnight that the games of the 35th Summer Olympiad will be in Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane won the right the rights to the games unanimously with no additional city bidding for the games.
After the announcement, IOC president Thomas Bach spoke about how Brisbane can help the Olympic movement in the future,
“The Brisbane 2032 vision and Games plan fit into long-term regional and national strategies for social and economic development in Queensland and Australia, and complement the goals for the Olympic Movement outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020 and 2020+5, while focusing on providing memorable sports experiences for athletes and fans.”
Thomas Bach IOC President
Now Brisbane will begin preparing to welcome the world in 11 years. This is the second Summer Olympics bid where the host city was announced 11 years from the commencement of the games. The first was four years ago when Los Angeles was awarded the 2028 Summer Games. Normally the IOC awards the games seven years before the games commence in the winning city.
If this continues to be the IOC’s path in determining host cities favors with cities with large investments in infrastructure. So, awarding the games eleven years outputs cities in a better position to host than with seven years of preparation.
Analysis of the IOC’s Decision and What is Needed in Brisbane
However, for Brisbane, five venues will be needing construction for the games. Four of the venues are located within the city of Brisbane. Such as the Aquatics Center, Basketball, Canoe, and Modern Penthalon venues will be in Brisbane. But, the additional competition venue is on the Sunshine Coast of Australia and will host Basketball.
Though there will still be renovations to venues, the overall construction cost is much lower. But, the major construction will be the Olympic Village which there will be two villages. The first village which will house the majority of the athletes will be in Brisbane. The additional village will be on the coastline and further from the Olympic Park. So, this can allow athletes to be closer to their events and competition site.
However, with a lower construction budget needed for the games, it places the city without massive debt. But, with less of an infrastructure investment, organizers can focus on the biggest challenge, security. So, with less of a construction cost, the remaining money can go to security.
Does the IOC need to change the Bidding Process
However, though there is tons of excitement for the games for the winning cities, the question is, does the IOC need to change the bid process? I think at this point, and the answer is yes. Consider this if you will the last three summer games; the winning bid has been unopposed. However, in reality, this shows that at this point, the games are more of a risk than a reward.
So, at this point, the IOC needs to find some way to lower the overall cost and burden on cities that host the games. The cities of Paris, Los Angeles, and Brisbane have the infrastructure needed to host the games. However, not every city in the world has the infrastructure that these cities automatically have available. So, for more cities to get into the bidding process, the IOC will need to help with the process. The world will have to wait until 2032, when Brisbane has its big moment to welcome the world.
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