COSTA NAVARINO (INSIDE THE GAMES) —In a press conference that took place in Greece on Monday before the 144th IOC Session, the International Olympic Committee announced that confirmation of the initial sports programme for the Summer Games in Australia would be pushed back a year.
The IOC has been forced to bend its own rules by delaying the major deadline due to the well-documented indecision in Brisbane. The Olympic Charter’s Rule 45 states that the Olympic Programme is decided by the IOC Session “in principle seven years prior to the opening of the concerned Olympic Games.” The one-year extension was agreed upon by the IOC and the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee and means that contestants will now have just six years to prepare. The IOC explained the reasons for the delay in an official statement this week.
“Some of the benefits include: providing Brisbane 2032 additional time to work with its delivery partners to review and validate critical sporting infrastructure projects which will play a pivotal role in the Olympic Games,” it read. “And providing an opportunity for Brisbane 2032 to collaborate with the IOC to further refine the approach to the sports programme, tailoring the process and timeline, with a focus on optimisation and partnerships, particularly with International Federations. ”
The IOC’s reasoning was echoed by the president of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee who put a positive spin on the delay and emphasised that athletes will still have plenty of time in front of them once the programme is confirmed. “Following the Australian and Queensland government’s confirmation on venues available for Games use, we will assess and update our venue master plan,” said Liveris. “Alignment of our sport program for presentation and approval next year, and providing a lengthy runway of assurance for athletes to prepare ahead of the Games in 2032. We have had significant interest and conversations with a range of International Federations that want to be part of our Games in 2032 and we look forward to discussions continuing in the coming months.”
When the Queensland capital was awarded the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics back in July 2021 it was afforded the longest period of time organisers have ever had to prepare but that 11-year headstart has dwindled without much to show for it as preparations have so far failed to commence.
An infrastructure impasse has dogged Brisbane 2032’s image over the last year with multi-year-long stadium debates causing major delays and growing concerns. Which venues can be used to host, which require major revamps, and which, if any, are worthy of the Olympic spectacle at all has fuelled indecision and division. A plan to build a new sports and entertainment precinct at Victoria Park in South East Queensland hoped to offer a solution and initially gathered steam after receiving some significant backing, including from Liveris himself who in December said “What better visual than to have a new stadium at Vic Park? … I would love it, to be perfectly frank”.
This too, however, has been tainted by controversy. There has been significant local pushback with many against the idea of ripping up a prime green area of the city to erect stadiums in its place. The community group Save Victoria Park has said it has already discussed countering the move with barristers and will force all the legal obstacles and further delays that it can. To complicate matters further, when the Victoria Park project was first mooted some of Australia’s most prominent federations and associations such as Swimming Australia and Football Australia weighed in requesting dedicated new stadiums of their own.
After being branded “a hot mess” by former Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, incumbent Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie told parliament in February that a delivery plan would finally be put forward at the end of this month. Liberal National Party leader David Crisafulli was sworn in as Queensland’s 41st Premier in November and launched a promised 100-day review to “assess the intricate network of critical infrastructure projects required to support the Games.” According to the government website, the review committee was set to report back to the state government with its findings on 8 March and is now set to confirm a delivery plan on 24 March before announcing it to the public on 25 March.
Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese voiced his support of Brisbane 2032 but stressed he would keep an eye on funding. “We support the Brisbane arena, we support an indoor arena, not just because of what it will do for the Olympics but importantly as well provide an ongoing indoor venue for things like concerts and other activities,” he said. “We have $3.5 billion (€3.21) on top of the Brisbane arena funding, there are 19 different smaller venues which we are providing support for but on top of that as well, it’s important to remember as we look to the success of Brisbane 2032, the billion dollars we are putting into high-level sports.”
In any case, a final blueprint of the infrastructure plan has been promised for next week when the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee will have to push on with a plan regardless of its opposition to avoid even further blushes…PACNEWS