August 2, 2024
It's no secret that Olympic Games of the past have created a huge impact on the cities hosting - from budget blowouts (an average of 179% overrun since 1960!) to white elephant venues to disused athlete villages to whole country economies struggling to pay off the two-week event (think Athens 2004). And don’t forget the environmental impacts. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has learned a lot from the mistakes of the past with a key focus now on the impacts to the host nation of hosting an Olympic Games.
With the process reformed recently, the IOC now insists the Games should adapt to the host, not the host to the Games - in other words the project must be aligned with local long-term socio-economic development plans. Existing venues should be used as much as possible, even if they are outside the main host region. New venues should only be built if there is a long-term legacy need. To achieve this, events can also be located in more than one city, region or country. And we can see this with Brisbane 2032 - it is really the South East Queensland games, with events also planned for the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay areas.
Making Paris 2024 sustainable
If we take a look at Paris 2024, you can truly see the impacts the change in focus has had on the way infrastructure for the Games has been developed. There is a noticeable focus on long-term sustainable outcomes for the city. Integrated into every level of the organisation, Paris 2024’s circular economy strategy is based on three key principles:
- Organising the Games with fewer resources
- Making better use of these resources
- Ensuring a second life for resources after the Games.
The Paris Olympic Committee committed to reducing the carbon footprint of the Games by 50 per cent on previous Games, aligning itself with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change 2015. In the realm of infrastructure planning, this has meant that the temporary venues built for the games have a much lower carbon footprint than previous games, making their designs more sustainable. Not only that, but all venues are also powered by renewable energy.
The organisers have ensured that all venues are accessible by public transport and more than 400km of cycle paths have been added. Additionally, the Olympic Village is within a 10-kilometre radius of 80 per cent of venues.
With a total of 95 per cent of venues being pre-existing or temporary and the rest being built with low-carbon building methods and the Athletes' Village providing housing for 6,000 people post-Games, the Paris Games have set the bar for Brisbane 2032.
Creating a legacy for South East Queensland
With Brisbane 2032 now eight years away, Queensland faces a somewhat tight deadline to prepare. Recent years have seen debates and conflicts regarding venues and funding. Independent reviews and governance changes have added to the issues, but the organisers insist planning is on schedule.
There is still no consensus on a major stadium to host the ceremonies and the athletics, with a redeveloped Queensland Sports and Athletes Centre (QSAC) or Suncorp Stadium, or a refurbished Gabba, still in the mix. We should know more on what venue will be used as the main Olympic stadium after a cost-benefit analysis of a proposed QSAC redevelopment of the stadium built for the 1982 Commonwealth Games is finalised.
It's fortunate that the emphasis is now on leveraging existing infrastructure rather than constructing entirely new venues for the games.
As part of the preparations for Brisbane 2032, only six out of the 35 venues (17%) will be constructed from the ground up, according to current planning. Additionally, nine existing venues are slated for upgrades. There are also plans to build four Athletes’ Villages with private sector support. All this equates to $7.1 billion in spending over the next eight years. Industry can expect to see tenders for some of the smaller venues by the end of the year.
For Brisbane 2032, all new and upgraded venue projects are being pre-planned to meet the needs of Queensland. They will be built in time for the Games, not built for the Games. New and upgraded facilities will be purpose designed to meet local community participation needs first and foremost, before being converted to Games competition venue mode, and then returned to the community with long-lasting benefits.
While the venues are no doubt crucial for a successful Games, it is also the surrounding infrastructure that needs to be considered hand in hand with the venues to make the Games a true success. Public transport, active transport, road upgrades and passive spaces all play a part in the overall picture.
With around a week of the Paris Games still to go, no doubt the Brisbane 2032 organisers will be watching closely and learning from Paris 2024.
