And the winner is …
Brisbane to host the Olympics in 2032? It’s really not that far away. Eleven years, that’s all.
Think back eleven years and it seems like yesterday that prime minister Kevin Rudd, a Brisbane local, was dumped and replaced by Julia Gillard – Australia’s first female PM. Seventeen-year-old Jessica Watson from the Sunshine Coast became the youngest person to sail unassisted around the world. And in March Clem7, our first cross-city tunnel, opened to the public.
So if you think of it like that then 2032 is not far away at all.
Here’s a short run down on the current state of play.
In 2019, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made radical changes to the way Olympic cities are selected. Now potential cities are recommended and invited to bid, possibly without opponents. The expensive and onerous requirements of the past, and the accompanying damaging media headlines as countries take on huge debts to host the festival, are hopefully no more. Any new and expensive infrastructure that does have to be built must prove to be sustainable and should provide a legacy to the host city.
In February, under these new rules, the IOC gave Brisbane the nod making our city a frontrunner and on a fast track to host the games in 2032. In our favour is the fact that Queensland already has runs on the board having hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2018, and some IOC members have praised the infrastructure already in place.
South Korea expressed regret at the IOC’s announcement about Brisbane and, in March, submitted a bid for a jointly held North and South Korean games. This option could be tempting for the IOC, which could see this as a great way to influence global political affairs. Conversely, it could be seen as a highly risky venture as North Korea continues to fire off ballistic missiles into the ocean.
Therefore, a Brisbane Olympics is definitely not a foregone conclusion. It’s going to be a case of ‘watch this space’.
If it does become a reality, we can expect the eyes of the world to be on Brisbane in the run up to the games and, of course, during them. The Olympics provides cities with a great tool for promotion and for urban marketing. It would be an extraordinary opportunity for Queensland and Brisbane to leverage a short-term event into a positive long-term legacy.
As property owners in the city, you will have a ring-side seat to the action. Economic benefits will flow from ticket sales, licensing, jobs, sponsorships and much more besides. There will be more and better facilities and infrastructure. And then there are all those intangible benefits – excitement, inspiration and entertainment.
What can we expect with regards to house prices? If we look at what happened in Sydney, and more broadly across Australia, during and after the 2000 Olympics, it seems there are benefits there too. According to a report by urban researcher Associate Professor Constantine Kontokosta* published in 2011, house prices in Australia had experienced minimal growth in the years leading up to the Olympics. Between 1990 and 1996 prices grew slowly in Sydney but then soared from 1998 as preparations for the Olympics approached their peak. After the Olympics, across Australia, house prices grew overall by 13.9 per cent, with Sydney achieving a 60 per cent increase between 2000 and 2004.
It looks like the property market is in for some exciting times ahead. Watch this real estate space!
