BRISBANE, (INSIDE THE GAMES) – A potential Brisbane bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics moved a step closer today after a year-long study backed the idea.
The Australian city has the “capability” to host the spectacle in 12 years time, according to a preliminary report which was commissioned.
Brisbane could be the hub of a combined south-east Queensland bid, which would include Gold Coast – the 2018 Commonwealth Games host city – and Sunshine Coast.
That means some of the venues already exist while there will be four international airports in the region by 2028.
Accommodation could be a challenge, however, while a high-speed train would be needed between Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
Mayors in the region have endorsed the findings of the preliminary report and a more detailed study into the merits of a bid is now expected to follow.
“This pre-feasibility study says south-east Queensland is capable of undertaking an Olympic Games,” Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said to the Brisbane Times.
“But it does say very clearly that there are some challenges and we need to look in more detail in a full feasibility report to advance this particular bid.
“I think every city and every region has to ask itself, ‘what’s next in terms of the focus a region has?’
“And the one point I want to reiterate today is that this will only proceed if there is overwhelming evidence that there was benefit for the people of south-east Queensland in this.
“That they end up with better infrastructure, better mobility, faster travel times and that the economic benefits through job growth were there into the future.”
Cities must express an interest in bidding for the 2028 Games by January in 2019.
The 2024 race is currently in full swing with Budapest, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome all in the frame.
The three losing cities could potentially enter again for 2028.
Brisbane hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1982 and lost out to Barcelona when bidding for the 1992 Olympic Games.
The city will host shooting and cycling during Gold Coast 2018.
Australia last hosted the Summer Olympics in 2000, when they were held in Sydney.
