TOKYO — Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Olympics on Wednesday,
triggering celebratory fireworks as it became the third Australian city to host
the Summer Games after Melbourne and Sydney.
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International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach confirmed the widely
expected result after a vote at the IOC session in Tokyo.
"The International Olympic Committee has the honor to announce that the
Games of the 35th Olympiad are awarded to Brisbane, Australia," Bach said.
The announcement was greeted by cheers from the Brisbane delegates in Tokyo,
while fireworks lit up the skies above the Australian city thousands of kilometers
away.
Brisbane's victory looked a certainty after it was unanimously proposed as
the single candidate for 2032 by the IOC's 15-strong executive board in June.
"It's a historic day not just for Brisbane and Queensland, but for the
entire country," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
"Only global cities can secure the Olympic Games, so this is fitting
recognition for Brisbane's standing across our region and the world."
Australia has already hosted the Olympics twice, in Melbourne in 1956 and
Sydney in 2000, widely considered one of the most successful Games in recent
history.
Hundreds of people packed Brisbane's Southbank riverside precinct for an
announcement viewing party, watching the city's final pitch to the IOC
projected on a big screen.
Rhys Cush, 24, one of those in the masked-up crowd, said he hoped to work at
the 2032 Olympics and also attend as a spectator.
"I'm an extremely big fan. I even watched the softball this
morning," he told AFP. "I'm super excited about having the Olympics
coming here."
Lauren Granger, 42, said she hoped the 2032 Olympics would recreate the buzz
of Sydney's successful 2000 Games.
"We flew down to Sydney and we were at the Olympics and it was just
such a great experience for our family," she said.
"That was 20 years ago so we'd love to be able to relive that in 2032
with our kids."
'Too many losers'
Home to about 2.3 million people and bookended by shimmering coastal sands,
Brisbane is seen as more laid-back and less cosmopolitan than Australia's
sprawling southern cities.
Venues will be spread across Brisbane and nearby towns in Queensland state,
including the Gold Coast which hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
There are hopes the Olympics will boost Brisbane's profile, making it more
attractive to tourists who tend to use it as a jumping-off point for
attractions like the Great Barrier Reef.
A report in The Australian newspaper said the Games will cost Au$5bn, with
the opening and closing ceremonies taking place at a redeveloped Gabba cricket
ground.
The decision means the IOC has now secured hosts for the next three Summer
Olympics, with Paris holding the event in 2024 and Los Angeles organizing the
2028 Games.
The awarding of the 2032 Olympics was the first to take place with a new
election method adopted in June 2019 in an attempt to counter application fees
and a lack of serious bids.
For the 2024 Games, Bach complained the process had “produced too many
losers,” after Rome, Hamburg and Budapest all pulled out of the running.
Bidding cities have become increasingly hard to come by in recent years as
costs balloon and the economic benefits of holding the Games remain unclear.
The vote took place two days before the troubled Tokyo Olympics, which will
start behind closed doors on Friday after a year's delay because of the
pandemic.
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