IOC Chief Rules Out Joint City Australian Bid for 2028 Olympics

(ATR) Thomas Bach says a regional bid is possible, after meeting Thursday with mayors from south-east Queensland to discuss a potential pitch for the 2028 Games.

Bach ruled out any potential joint bid from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane for the 2028 Olympics but was enthusiastic about a bid centred on Brisbane that would encompass the surrounding cities and region.

The German and Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates attended the meeting with the mayors, a day after he made comments at a Sydney press conference saying Australia would have a very good chance in the 2028 bidding race.

Under Agenda 2020’s revamped bidding rules, regional bids would be accepted by the IOC only in "exceptional circumstances", using venues outside the host city to improve sustainability and legacy.

Bach confirmed this in discussions about a potential bid from south-east Queensland. Mayor of the Sunshine Coast, Mark Jamieson, and Lord Mayor of Brisbane Graham Quirk were in attendance.

"We had a very successful meeting," Coates said. "We talked about the feasibility of a ‘regional bid’ which is within a 100km radius around Brisbane. It was clarified that there would be one village. There’ll be no breaking from that – that is critical to the IOC.

"We know that Brisbane and that region in south-east Queensland is the only area that could host a Games in July/August with the weather conditions.

"As for having a bid that covers other cities that’s totally ruled out by the president (Bach). You can go to other venues for reasons of sustainability for preliminary competitions but really we want one Olympic Village for the whole of the Games for all of the 10,500 athletes and 205 nations."

Coates added: "Importantly there was great support and great enthusiasm from our president [Bach] to the way they [the mayors] are approaching this feasibility study.

"The plans are now well in place for another Australian bid."

Sunshine Coast Mayor Jamieson welcomed the support and information from the IOC delegation. Jamieson noted that the IOC was firm about the need for a central athletes’ village and that legacy and sustainability needed to be central to any potential bid, according to the AOC.

The IOC president was told that south-east Queensland was the most popular for athletes during pre-Games training for Sydney 2000 and that by 2028 the region will have four well established international airports.

All mayors in the region will be updated on the IOC discussions at a meeting on Friday with work set to continue on a feasibility study for a potential bid. Coates said a feasibility study should be concluded by the end of 2016, with lobbying for state and federal government support the following year, if it yields positive results.

NOC applications for the 2028 Olympics are due with the IOC in 2019.

Bach to Fiji

Bach and Coates have now left Australia for Fiji, where they will attend the Oceania National Olympic Committees General Assembly.

Earlier this week the Chefs de Mission from Oceania met in Fiji for a two-day briefing on the upcoming Rio 2016 Games. Every nation was represented in the meeting, some by their Chef de Mission, and some by a memberof the committee’s administration staff. Of all the countries, only delegations from New Zealand and Australia have had the opportunity to go to Rio on a planning visit, so the information provided by the IOC was invaluable.

The IOC gave an overview of the Games preparation and the venues, with the intention to allow the remote island nations with limited budgets the ability to best prepare their teams for next year’s Games.

For Kitty Chiller, Chef de Mission of the Australian Team, the forum also offered the opportunity to strengthen relationships with her colleagues from Oceania which will be useful throughout the coming year and in Rio itself.

Chiller, who competed in modern pentathlon at the Sydney 2000 Games, said: "We continue to have an excellent relationship with our neighbours and as has happened in previous Games, we will continue discussions as to how we may be able to assist some other Oceania NOCs at Games time."

A point of interest throughout the forum was an IOC overview of Rule 40 and Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter. "This prompted a lot of discussion amongst attendees," Chiller said. "It has been a great two days. In general it was an extremely collaborative and open forum with a genuine commitment from all NOCs that planning revolves primarily around needs of our athletes."

Reported from Sydney by Alice Wheeler

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