Brisbane to host 2032 Olympics

The IOC announced Wednesday that Brisbane has won the right to host the 2032 summer Olympic Games in an unopposed race. This will be the third time Australia has hosted the Games, after the 1956 Games in Melbourne and the 2000 Games in Sydney, and will be the second time the country has hosted the Paralympic Games.

BRISBANE 2032 ELECTED AS HOST OF THE GAMES OF THE XXXV OLYMPIAD!

CONGRATULATIONS! pic.twitter.com/h66C9pHxcG

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) July 21, 2021

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In a live video link from his office, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the country already knows “what it takes to deliver a successful Games in Australia.”

Brisbane was given exclusive negotiating rights from the IOC back in February and was confirmed as the next host in a 72-5 vote by IOC members. This was part of a new bidding system designed to cut costs, prevent controversy and lessen the risk of vote-buying. According to IOC President Thomas Bach, the new bidding system was also introduced to address the lack of serious contenders, and comes after several countries withdrew their bids to host the 2024 Games. The immense cost of hosting an Olympics, coupled with unguaranteed economic benefits, mean fewer and fewer cities are bidding to be hosts, and while some countries can repurpose the massive infrastructure that must be built to host a Games (and thus justify building it), many more cannot, and their Olympic venues eventually fall into disrepair.

The next summer Olympic Games will be held in 2024 in Paris, followed by Los Angeles in 2028.

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