Brisbane is celebrating after being awarded the 2032 Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee in a landslide vote in Tokyo on Wednesday.
With three of the 80 members of the IOC abstaining, 72 voted for Brisbane and just five against in a sweeping show of support.
IOC president Thomas Bach said the bid ticked all of the boxes, while underlined by Australia’s “passionate love for sport”.
“I think it’s first of all a passionate love for sport, which the Aussies really demonstrate,” Bach said.
“You could feel this during the whole presentation and I could feel it already during my visit a couple of years ago in Queensland.
“It is a project which is absolutely in line with the IOC reforms, it’s a project of sustainable gains in every respect and you could hear and see that today that this was a matter of concern, also for the IOC members.
“I was really very much impressed today by the presentation, which addressed all these key issues in a very substantive way.”
The city’s bid had earlier earned praise from the IOC for its high percentage of existing venues encompassing south-east Queensland, support from all levels of government and experience in organising major events.
Despite the IOC claiming it wasn’t a “done deal”, the Tokyo organising committee released an embargoed statement before the vote congratulating Brisbane.
Brisbane was preferred ahead of Budapest, Korea, Doha and Germany’s Ruhr Valley, who had all expressed an interest in hosting the Games.
Bach said the IOC had previously discussed Brisbane’s bid but there was no agreement.
“You cannot blame the IOC members for a press release from the organising committee, I don’t know what they had in mind … but it had nothing to do with our procedures,” Bach said.
The Brisbane 2032 delegation, including AOC President John Coates and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, made a formal final presentation to the IOC meeting.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the meeting via a live link from Parliament House and spoke of the Australian government’s financial commitment to the Games.
He also described Australia’s sports-mad multicultural population, with 300 ethnicities, as a “giant Olympic village”.
Morrison said securing the Games was a coup for the nation.
“It’s a historic day not just for Brisbane and Queensland, but for the entire country,” Morrison said.
“It also marks an important leap forward for Australia as we look toward major events that lock in economic growth and social benefits that will echo for years to come.”
Coates, who is also an IOC vice-president, dubbed Brisbane “the together games” mixing modernity and the Olympics’ 136-year-old ideals.
He said the Games in 2032 were in good hands.
“The Olympic Games in Brisbane will be in the most diligent, grateful and enthusiastic hands,” Coates said after the vote.
“And I make this commitment to the athletes of the world – we will provide you with an unforgettable experience.”
Paralympics Australia President Jock O’Callaghan said Brisbane 2032 would reinforce the Paralympic movement’s strength in demonstrating what people with a disability can achieve.
“The Paralympics has grown to become far and away the world’s biggest event for promoting inclusion, a global showcase of the true value of sport,” O’Callaghan said.
“This means that hosting the Games opens up extensive opportunities.”
While fireworks erupted in Brisbane, the reaction was more muted with the city confirmed back in February as the preferred host city and awarded exclusive negotiation rights ahead of its bidding rivals.
The IOC overhauled its bidding rules in 2019 to reduce costs and avoid pitting candidates against each other.
Australia will become only the second country after the United States to host the Summer Olympics in three different cities.
Melbourne held the Games in 1956 and then Sydney in 2000.
Paris will stage the 2024 Games while Los Angeles has been awarded the 2028 edition.
AAP
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