Queensland bid our only Olympic hope: AOC

A SOUTHEAST Queensland bid is Australia’s only hope of securing the 2032 Olympic Games.

That is the view of Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll, who has ruled out the possibility of a return to Melbourne or Sydney – the respective homes of the 1956 and 2000 Olympics.

Carroll has talked up the possibility of the Games returning to Australia after a 32year absence, putting Brisbane and the Gold Coast right in contention.

He said Queensland was ideally placed because of its warmer climate and already having appropriate stadiums in place, mainly due to this year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

“One thing that I’m happy to say puts a limiting on that (other cities) is the Olympic Games need to be held in July or August,” Carroll told the National Press Club yesterday.

“It’s a little bit cold in the southern hemisphere since it’s our winter time. When you start to look at cities which can host it, you’ve got to be above the Tweed (River).”

The 1956 Olympics in the Victorian capital finished in December, while the Sydney Games 18 years ago started in September. But the International Olympic Committee’s preference is to hold the Games during the northern hemisphere summer.

Carroll said there was enough time for Queensland to launch a successful bid, with the 2032 host not announced for another seven years.

“An opportunity to host again – it won’t come around very often,” he said.

Paris (2024) and Los Angeles (2028) have already been locked in to follow Tokyo’s second shot at hosting the Olympics.

A potential southeast Queensland bid would likely come up against India and Indonesia, with both countries already expressing interest.

“After the excellent experience of the Asian Games, we now believe we can host the very biggest sporting event,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in September.