C’mon Queensland! Brisbane 2032 Games blame games must stop

BREAKING NEWS: Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games to include whingeing and whining as a sport…home nation expected to dominate after diabolical levels of negativity. 

Of course, the above sentence is not true. 

But let’s be honest, the collective – or loudest – mindset towards Brisbane 2032 has been decidedly “unQueensland-like”.  

Whether it be in sport, business, the arts, or any other arena you care to name, Queenslanders pride themselves on being able to compete with anybody, anywhere, any time by working collaboratively, being innovative and creative and proving the critics and naysayers wrong. 

But the O-word has been on the nose since we won the hosting rights of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032. 

When the first medal is being contested in 2032, wherever the venues end up being, nobody will be worried about the to-and-fro of 2024. Much like the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018, when the significant pre-event handwringing dissipated once the Aussie gold rush got underway. 

So, here are a few O-words that we can all get behind immediately – opportunity, optimism, once-in-a-lifetime event. 

It is not just the athletes who can go for glory at Brisbane 2032. The event represents a golden opportunity for the community as a whole. 

In Paris later this year, almost 11,000 athletes, 30,000 volunteers, 20,000 accredited media, thousands more coaching and support staff and millions of spectators from around the world will descend on the French capital for the 2024 Olympics. 

Fast-forward to 2032 and the numbers will be just as compelling. 

All those people need to eat, drink, sleep, travel and be entertained for the best part of three weeks before we do it all again for the Paralympics. And many will choose to extend their stay and spend more money after the Games have finished. 

So, the hundreds and thousands of small businesses that sit inside the hospitality industry and other service provider sectors stand to benefit greatly. Laundry services, caterers, Uber/taxi drivers and Airbnb hosts. You name them and they can get some bang for their buck in 2032. 

Images of Brisbane and other venues around south-east Queensland will be beamed across the world to billions of people in priceless advertising for our tourism operators that should keep paying dividends long after the five-ring circus has rolled out of town. 

Jobs will be created, and expertise gained as the economy receives a massive injection of spending across the board. 

For creative, collaborative, and innovative thinkers in all walks of life north of the Tweed River, there are more angles than a protractor to explore to get a slice of the Olympic action.  

The tendering and bidding process will be ultra-competitive. Businesses big and small need to prepare like an Olympic athlete in terms of ensuring they have ticked every box before the starting gun goes off so they can perform to their potential. 

Is their website in good shape? Do their social media platforms get across the right key messages? Are they prepared for a worst-case scenario with a crisis communications plan? Are they media trained? Are they targeting the right audience, the right way? Is their business the best version of itself before it enters the world stage? 

There could be so many good news stories to tell. Success stories. Positive stories about local businesses who made the most of this opportunity because – in their own way – they embraced the Olympics and their motto of “faster, higher, stronger – together”. 

Most venues will continue to be a lasting legacy for sporting organisations and community groups that will help them grow into the future. Transport infrastructure and public transport systems will also be greatly enhanced with the work that is done now. 

A quick look at the official website for the Paris Games features upbeat, positive, and optimistic messaging on how the event will change the City of Love for the better, not just from a sporting perspective but economically, culturally, and socially. 

To borrow a catch-cry used by some sporting teams, “why not us?” 

Some of the most famous cities in the world have been or will be Olympic hosts this century like Beijing, London, Tokyo, Paris, and Los Angeles. 

Is Brisbane content with continuing to be known as the “big country town”? 

Or is it time to stop the whingeing, put the big boy/girl pants on and produce an Olympics and Paralympics to be proud of? 

Is it time to show, what we know – that Brisbane is a city that can deliver. 

It is time to be more Queensland-like about this.