Have the Games already been done and the case closed? Australia’s bid for the Summer Games in 2032, led by the city of Brisbane and the state of Queensland, could be “ recommended “ from this Wednesday February 24 at the IOC Executive Board.
The Commission for Future Host Cities of the Summer Games, chaired by Norwegian Kristin Kloster Aasen, will be invited by Thomas Bach to present its report on the discussions underway with the declared applicants. It will do so remotely, by videoconference. And could, according to the British site InsidetheGames, express very clearly his preference for the Australian project.
At this stage of the process, more than 11 years before the event, the choice of the IOC will undoubtedly not already be decided. The final decision will be taken by the session of the Olympic body, whose next meeting is scheduled from March 10 in virtual mode. It could take place this year, perhaps on the occasion of the Tokyo Games, or in the less near future.
But in the event that the IOC Executive Board decides on Wednesday in favor of the recommendation made by Kristin Kloster Aasen, Queensland would further strengthen its position as the favorite. The Australians would then enter a new phase of the selection process. They would initiate a more “targeted” dialogue, supposed to lead them to be chosen to host the Summer Games in 2032.
Officially, the other postulants will therefore not be excluded from now. But the advance taken by the Australians could quickly prove to be decisive.
As a reminder, the IOC took the decision to reform its host city selection process after the double vote – Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 – of the Lima session in September 2013. It sent to the oblivion of history the rule of seven years between the award and the event, the very principle of a candidacy campaign, and open the race to all scenarios.
Two commissions for future host cities have been created, one for winter and the other for summer. With the same mission: to establish a dialogue with the possible applicants, to sort through the projects, then to recommend one or more to the executive board.
The process concerns the 2030 Winter Games and the Summer Games in 2032. But it has already been put in place for the choice of the host of the Youth Winter Games 2024. The event has been attributed to the South Korean province of Gangwon, chosen without having to vote to decide between several candidates.
For competition, the “recommendation” expected this Wednesday in favor of Brisbane 2032 promises to be a blow. Of course, it does not end the race. Not yet. But it seriously reduces the chances of a group of postulants crowded with India, Indonesia, Germany, Qatar, and more recently Hungary.
Launched very early, and carried from day one by influential John Coates, the Queensland bid seemed to be leading the way from the start of the race. An Australian delegation, led by Annastacia Palaszczuk, the Prime Minister of the State, made a very official visit to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne at the end of 2019. More recently, Thomas Bach took advantage of his visit in Tokyo, last fall, to meet the Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, also present in the Japanese capital.
The health crisis put the project on hold, last year, Annastacia Palaszczuk announcing that the priority was now to fight against the pandemic. But it was relaunched in December, with Queensland authorities believing the Olympics could help boost the economy in the post-COVID-19 world.
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