Brisbane confirmed as host of 2032 Olympic Games
Gabba #Gabba
Brisbane has been formally confirmed as the host of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had already made the Australian city in the state of Queensland its preferred candidate and no other hosts were considered.
Brisbane is the first bid to win the right to host the Olympics uncontested since the 1984 Games staged in Los Angeles.
The bid proposed 37 venues, with The Gabba stadium, a prominent international cricket venue, set to be refurbished as part of the proposals.
The Gabba is in line to host the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the leading athletics events.
India, Indonesia, Qatar, Germany and Spain had all been interested in hosting the Games but did not advance to IOC board approval, with Brisbane fast-tracked.
IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement: “Brisbane 2032 is the first future host to have been elected under, and to have fully benefited from, the new flexible approach to electing Olympic hosts.
“The reforms enable the IOC to work in partnership with cities, regions, and countries, to encourage Olympic projects which use a high percentage of existing and temporary venues, which align with long-term development plans, and which have a strong vision for sports and local communities.”
Australia has twice staged the Olympics previously, in Melbourne (1956) and Sydney (2000).
Following the delayed 2020 Games in Tokyo, which started on Wednesday, the Olympics will go to Paris in 2024 and LA in 2028 before Brisbane four years later.