Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Olympics on Wednesday, triggering wild celebrations and fireworks as it became the third Australian city to host the Summer Games after Melbourne and Sydney.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach confirmed the widely expected result after delegates voted 72 to five with three abstentions at the IOC session in Tokyo.
“The International Olympic Committee has the honor to announce that the Games of the 35th Olympiad are awarded to Brisbane, Australia,” Bach said.
The announcement was greeted by cheers from the Australian delegates in Tokyo, while in Brisbane fireworks lit up the skies, and crowds who had gathered for the vote went wild.
Brisbane’s victory looked a certainty after it was unanimously proposed as the single candidate for 2032 by the IOC’s 15-strong executive board in June.
“I’m so excited — I have so much pride for my state, for my people. Never in my lifetime did I think that this was going to happen,” said Queensland state premier Anna Palaszczuk.
“We”ve done it, Queensland! We’ve done it, Brisbane! This is fantastic, this is amazing –- tonight is your night, enjoy.”
Members of the Brisbane 2032 delegation (L-R) Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Mayor of Brisbane, Adrian Schrinner, and John Coates head of the Australian Olympic Committee celebrate after Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Summer Olympics host city during the 138th IOC Session in Tokyo on July 21, 2021. (Photo by Toru Hanai / POOL / AFP)
Australia has already hosted the Olympics twice, in Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000, widely considered one of the most successful Games in recent history.
Hundreds of people packed Brisbane’s Southbank riverside precinct for the announcement, watching the city’s final pitch to the IOC on a big screen.
Rhys Cush, 24, one of those in the masked-up crowd, said he hoped to work at the 2032 Olympics and also attend as a spectator.
“I’m an extremely big fan. I even watched the softball this morning,” he told AFP. “I’m super excited about having the Olympics coming here.”
Lauren Granger, 42, said she hoped the 2032 Olympics would recreate the buzz of Sydney’s successful 2000 Games.
“We flew down to Sydney and we were at the Olympics and it was just such a great experience for our family,” she said.
“That was 20 years ago so we’d love to be able to relive that in 2032 with our kids.”
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