Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000 are the two times the world’s biggest sporting event has visited our shores. It is likely that we will see the games return to Australia, but where and when should we enter the bidding fray?
The AOC has signalled since the 2008 Beijing Games that it will one day try and bid for the Olympics, despite the rising costs associated with hosting the event.
Both Melbourne and Brisbane have also in this timeframe announced their interest in being the Aussie candidate city for an Olympic Games.
FULL AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC TEAM FOR RIO 2016
Both cities have logical and credible arguments to be an Olympic city. Melbourne, which hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games, has a lot of the infrastructure needed to host an Olympic Games (a canoe and rowing centre is the biggest missing piece of Olympic venue requirement).
Combine this with a few upgrades of existing venues and Melbourne as a city would be a cost effective, safe option for governments, the AOC and IOC.
Brisbane on the other hand has yet to host a summer Olympics. This works well in their favour as the IOC look to give Olympics to cities that have yet to host them.
Brisbane and the south-east Queensland region have the distinction of being Australia’s fastest growing regions. Three million people are expected to live in the area by 2030, as more people seek to live a sunny life. It is expected that by 2030 the area will be larger than Melbourne.
Also, through using some of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games venues, Brisbane will be able to keep the costs down like Melbourne and deliver fantastic games.
Before this city is even decided, the AOC first has to choose a viable year on which to bid for the Olympics.
The AOC, with public funding, cannot bid for an unreasonable Olympics or it faces annihilation, like the bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
This, I feel, rules out a bid for the 2020 Olympics as it is likely that those games will go to North America. By 2020, Atlanta ’96 would be the last Games held in North America and considering 50 percent of the TV revenue comes from the US, there would be pressure for an American bid to succeed.
I would also rule out 2024 as an African bid, which is likely to come from Durban or Cape Town plus expected bids from Europe and Asia, would make it highly unlikely for an Australian bid to succeed.
So this makes 2028 the best chance for Australia to enter a bid to host Olympic games.
Twenty-eight years will is a long time between drinks, and with the cyclical nature of hosting sporting events, 2028 is the earliest option available for Australia to enter a legitimate and worthwhile bid.
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