State set for $170m windfall

QUEENSLAND will reap more than $170m in free global publicity in the first 24 hours alone if Brisbane is announced as the 2032 Olympics host in Tokyo on Wednesday tonight.

After a vote in which delegates will be asked to vote yes, no or abstain, IOC President Thomas Bach will announce the decision about 6.20pm, and if successful the Premier and Lord Mayor will then sign the host contract.

Acting Premier Steven Miles said it was estimated that the worldwide exposure of securing the Olympics would be worth $174m within 24 hours of the announcement.

“If we’re successful, within 24 hours, millions of people around the world will be inundated with pictures of Queensland,” he said.

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the Games was worth a potential $8.1bn to Queensland in the long-term but the state would gain an immediate boost as images of the state went viral on the back of a successful bid.

Simone Waugh, the Queensland-based Australian boss of international advertising and PR firm Publicis Worldwide said the announcement alone provided priceless global exposure.

“It will be streamed into people’s homes around the world, not to mention online, print and other media. In advertising value alone, it could be more than $170m,” she said.

“And then there are the intangibles that this opportunity provides, such as placing Brisbane and Queensland on the world map alongside the biggest global cities of the world like London, Paris and LA.”