SEQ - The Olympics will call Australia home for a third time in 2032.
On Wednesday night, the hosting rights were formally awarded to Brisbane after a vote from International Olympic Committee member nations in Tokyo.
And it won’t just be Queensland’s capital that will be part of the games, with Ipswich and the Scenic Rim already in line to be part of the event.
The Brisbane Olympic bid featured three primary ‘zones’ that would accommodate 28 Olympic sports, within 32 venues and the Olympic village.
The zones were divided as two smaller Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast zones and a large Greater Brisbane zone, including Ipswich and Scenic Rim.
The under-construction Brisbane Lions training and support centre at Springfield Central is being considered as the venue for the football preliminaries and modern pentathlon in the 2032 Games.
Lake Wyaralong was confirmed as the venue for the rowing and canoeing events.
According to the Future Host Commission report, Kooralbyn is set be home to a small satellite Olympic village sleeping 1,100 people involved in the rowing and canoe events.
The village will be made up of ‘existing resort and temporary units’.
As part of the plan to deliver the regional Games, the Mayors of South East Queensland proposed an SEQ City Deal.
The deal was a long term agreement across three levels of government to deliver the infrastructure needed for the games and the region’s future.
Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen said the deal could deliver significant upgrades in the Scenic Rim.
"For the Scenic Rim, this means proper upgrades to the Mount Lindesay Highway and access to Bromelton to provide us with reliable and sustainable transport infrastructure for the future,” he said.
"In 11 years we will have the world’s best rowers and canoeists paddling here at Lake Wyaralong, cementing their place in history and making dreams come true.”
For Ipswich, the City Deal could result in the proposed Ipswich Central to Springfield Central public transport corridor becoming a reality.
Planning for the corridor has been underway for more than 15 years and is currently in the planning stage.
The rail would add to the regional transport network and ease the movement of competitors and spectators around the south east ahead of the 2032 Games, while also supporting the residents and growth of Ipswich.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said transport infrastructure was one of the main benefits Ipswich City Council and the Council of Mayors (SEQ) were focussed on.
“We need the transport infrastructure to not only help athletes get to the starting line, but also to help local mums and dads and other residents get to work and back home to their families and friends, safer and faster,” she said.
The Olympic bid, led by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Federal Sports Minister, Richard Colbeck, and Brisbane Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner, is the first to contractually agree to host a ‘climate-positive’ Games.
“We pledge to create a successful model under your new host city strategy by showcasing a cost-neutral, climate-positive, safe and enthralling experience for the whole world,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
The bid estimates the games to cost $5 billion with the economic and social benefits predicted to reach more than $8 billion for Queensland and more than $17 billion nationally.
Other predicted benefits of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games include;
• 122,900 full-time equivalent (FTE) job years nationally and 91,600 FTE job years in Queensland over a 20-year period.
• Economic benefits in international tourism and trade are estimated to be in the order of $4.6 billion, with an estimated benefit of $8.5 billion nationally.
• Social benefits (including health and volunteering) are estimated to be up to $3.5 billion for Queensland and up to $9.11 billion nationally.