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The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee (Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee) has announced it will hold its next Board meeting in Townsville, as part of its plan to bring the Games to all corners of Queensland.
The Board decided in last week’s meeting to host its next meeting in Townsville on 21 and 22 September, to tour local sporting venues, meet with industry and to celebrate the Games with young aspiring athletes and para-athletes.
The Australian Olympic Committee will also host an Olympics Unleashed session in Townsville during the visit, taking Olympians and aspiring Olympians into schools to inspire and motivate students to be their personal best.
Olympics Unleashed debuted in Queensland four years ago and has since seen more than 165,000 Queensland children participate, ensuring children all over the state learn important life skills around decision-making, goal setting and overcoming adversity to achieve their dreams.
Brisbane 2032 will be the first time in history the Olympic and Paralympic Games are held across a number of cities, not just one.
Brisbane will be the lead Host City for Brisbane 2032, with Co-Host cities stretching far and wide across Queensland, including Townsville, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Redland, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Moreton Bay, Cairns, Scenic Rim.
Football (soccer) is proposed to be played in Townsville during Brisbane 2032 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, ensuring Townsville locals can enjoy the Games in their own backyard.
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Quotes from leaders of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee President Andrew Liveris said:
“The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees have entrusted us with a new model of Games delivery, which will see us share the Games across many cities and regions, including Townsville. This will provide greater opportunity to spread the social and economic benefits of the Games. More businesses will get contracts, more volunteers can participate, more children and families can be in the stadium to watch the best athletes in the world compete.”
The Premier and Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk, said:
“I have said from the beginning that all of Queensland will share the pride of hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Ours is the first Regional Games: awarded to a region rather than one city.
Townsville is one of 10 Queensland cities and towns hosting Games events, so it is fitting that the Organising Committee Board meets here. Once an Olympic and Paralympic Host, always an Olympic and Paralympic Host, which gives Townsville great advantages in attracting new investment and tourism which we are keen to explore over the next nine years and the decades to come.”
Australian Minister for Sport and Aged Care, The Hon. Annika Wells, said:
“We have an opportunity through the Games to inspire people of all ages and walks of life to participate in sport. Having the world’s largest sport event in Townsville’s own backyard will encourage people to get active, especially our children, and reap all the health, wellbeing and social benefits that come with sport.”
Lord Mayor of Brisbane and Chair of the South East Queensland Council of Mayors Cr Adrian Schrinner:
“The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games aren’t just four weeks of sport. They’re an opportunity of a lifetime. Brisbane is the fastest growing capital city in Australia and I believe our residents want a better-connected region to be a core Games legacy. However, by working closely together there’s also enormous opportunities for the benefits of the Games to be spread to cities and towns right across our entire state.”
President of the Australian Olympic Committee, Ian Chesterman said:
“Regional communities like Townsville have been so important for Olympic sports, whether it’s grassroots or producing Olympic champions like Nat Cook and Libby Trickett. Sport in turn provides that important fabric that helps our regions thrive. I am looking forward to seeing our Olympics Unleashed program delivered in Townsville. It’s so important that kids can hear first-hand from Olympians to equip them with those critical life skills.”
President of Paralympics Australia, Jock O’Callaghan said:
“The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games provide a platform to build and deliver an equitable, inclusive, and sustainable society for future generations. Billions of people will be watching how Queensland and Australia drive positive social change, greater representation and more participation opportunities for people, including those with a disability through the power of sport. Since Sydney 2000, the success of Host Cities has been largely determined by the level of delivery of Paralympic Games.
London in 2012 is widely regarded as the ‘best Paralympic Games ever.’ Brisbane 2032 now has that opportunity.”
Posted: 30 May 2023
