Olympics Games for SEQ 2032

[SurfRail]

You can't just have feasibility studies into everything.

[#Metro]

You can't just have feasibility studies into everything.

Paris did theirs - it is up in the SEQ Mayor's twitter feed. We can't do that because ______??

[SurfRail]

Because we don't have infinite money or consultant resources to throw at every idea somebody has.  There is always a certain amount of vetting before projects or proposals get to that point.

Mind you, it's Brisbane's money to waste at this point.  At least 2 councils have their collective heads screwed on straight.

[ozbob]

LM announces that @SEQMayors have today voted to proceed with a full feasibility study into a potential bid for the 2028 Olympic Games

— Team Quirk (@Team_Quirk) September 23, 2016

[ozbob]

I hope they use good music in the vids hey?

[verbatim9]

I hope they use good music in the vids hey?

There will be a SEQ flyover video from the ranges to the ocean with pop up event venues from Noosa to Toowoomba back to the Coast via Brisbane to Coolangatta. They will also include a Public transport strategy to move everyone around venues. Most likely train and Light Rail because it looks classier on these types of Video simulations.

[ozbob]

Autonomous helicopters could work well.
They have form with trams in the Brissy River 

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane Olympic Games feasibility study gets green light from Council of Mayors

A Brisbane Olympics bid is a step closer after the Council of Mayors (South East Queensland) decided to green light a feasibility study on Friday.

The announcement was not a formal declaration of intent, but the biggest indication yet a south-east Queensland bid for the 2028 Games was firming up.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, the chairman of the Council of Mayors, said the mayors had decided to go ahead with the feasibility study, which would cost the region's ratepayers up to $2.5 million.

Cr Quirk said the Council of Mayors, which consisted of 11 south-east Queensland councils, decided "overwhelmingly" to go ahead with the feasibility study on Friday.

"For us, it's about making sure this work dovetails in other important work the Council of Mayors is undertaking," he said.

"This report will look at important links. It looks at important people-moving studies, as an example.

"It is about the connectivity of south-east Queensland that will be absolutely essential as a part of any Olympic Games bid."

Cr Quirk said the Council of Mayors met with Lord Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the London 2012 organising committee, last year and that solidified the benefits of hosting an Olympic Games.

"One of the things that emerged from that meeting, three years after the London Olympics, is that the London area had seen significant jobs growth out of the Olympic Games," Cr Quirk.

"So we see that and we see also the opportunity for infrastructure around our south-east Queensland region, the connectivity for the future."

Cr Quirk said the decision by the Gold Coast and Logan city councils not to contribute to the cost would not result on other councils having to pay more.

Instead, Cr Quirk said, he expected the private sector to chip in to the cost.

"If that's not forthcoming, then there is no point ever in proceeding to a full bid, because you've got to gather and harness support as you go," he said.

"But I think you'll find there will be strong support to assist the Council of Mayors with this next step."

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said the AOC welcomed the mayors' decision.

"The Australian Olympic Committee has supported the concept of a feasibility study from the outset," he said.

"We see this as the first step in the process."

Mr Coates, also vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, said any AOC decision to proceed with a formal bid would have to meet economic, social and environmental needs and promote the "maximum use of existing facilities".

Any decision by the Australian Olympic Committee to proceed will be based on the IOCs Agenda 2020 recommendations to potential bid cities:

"We believe this would be possible given the existing venues and infrastructure spread throughout the entire Council of Mayors area of south-east Queensland," he said.

"The current venues centred on Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast would be boosted by the additional venues being built as part of the 2018 Commonwealth Games."

Cr Quirk said he met with the representatives of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games organising committee during a visit to Japan last week.

"Two things emerged out of that," he said.

"The first thing is they've already taken $2 billion worth of costs off their original bid to win the Olympics and there is more to come under the new Olympic framework of Agenda 2020.

"The second thing, and this is the most important point from my point of view ... is that every part of Japan is going to benefit from the Tokyo Olympics.

"The Olympic committee is determined to make that happen. That is part of the whole agenda.

"The same would apply, if ever we got to a bid here and we got to do it, every part of this region would benefit."

Toowoomba mayor Paul Antonio said his region's councillors voted unanimously in favour of the feasibility study.

"Some of the things in terms of infrastructure that we've been talking about in Toowoomba for many, many years (such as) a rail line – it certainly won't come up the range until there's a hole in the hill," he said.

"But it certainly could come to Withcott, which would be great for us and it would help the Lockyer Valley, it would help Ipswich, it would help everybody."

Scenic Rim mayor Greg Christensen said regions such as his, which in all likelihood would not host event, still had a lot to gain from an Olympic Games.

"Any improvement that we can together achieve around the people-moving infrastructure is vital for us," he said.

"We have a large proportion of our population who do currently commute into and work across other parts of the region and it is costing them in time, in missed opportunity, because of the failures of the current infrastructure system.

"Do you think our voice is big enough on its own to lobby that issue at a state level? Sadly not. Sometimes, you need the united voice of one in six Australians to actually be able to achieve focus."

A decision of whether to formally bid for the 2018 Summer Olympic Games would not need to be made until 2019.

[ozbob]

Rome says #Olympics are a "dream which at a certain point turn into a nightmare", officially scraps bid: https://t.co/ejm3GWNhit pic.twitter.com/rMmqGmeh5m

— The New Daily (@TheNewDailyAu) September 30, 2016

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Veteran Olympic bidder Sallyanne Atkinson available for Brisbane 2028

[#Metro]

Rio is broke after 2016 Olympics

RIO de Janeiro was warned of the economic stresses an Olympics can place on a city — and now they are paying the price.

State-employed performers have lined the streets in protest of late paycheques while hospitals overflow with long lines of patients waiting attention.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/olympics-2016/rio-is-broke-after-2016-olympics/news-story/6d696d65b0a0e265eead2620e4a3321f

Brazil was probably already heading towards bankruptcy, but Olympics could have just accelerated that.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane has been given all-clear to bid for 2024 or 2028 Olympic Games

JOHN Coates has revealed that Brisbane has been given the all-clear to bid for the 2024 or 2028 Olympic Games.

Mr Coates last night told The Australian newspaper that he would make the bid a priority if he retained the ­Australian Olympic Committee presidency at tomorrow's historic vote.

The beleaguered president contacted a host of federations suggesting how they should vote.

It follows a move by the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors last August released a pre-feasibility report that said a combined councils bid for the 2028 Games could be competitive

At the time, Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said he was confident of progressing to the next stage.

A Galaxy poll published in The Courier-Mail showed that 62 per cent of people supported a possible bid.

Only 30 per cent opposed the idea, with 8 per cent remaining uncommitted.

The revelation comes as Mr Coates and challenger Danni Roche prepare to face off at a cocktail party tonight, when Mr Coates will address the Australian Olympic family, but Ms Roche will not have the chance.

The vote remains on a knife's edge. With several sports still undecided, Ms Roche clings to a slender lead.

The athletes commission is believed to have reached a deal with Mr Coates to adopt some of Ms Roche's initiatives.

There was speculation last night the deal might crumble if Mr Coates does not deliver on several fronts — including an 11th-hour change to his contentious ticket.

In a blow to hopes of controlling the board, Coates was told the nation's current and former athletes would support Melbourne's Andrew Plympton as vice-president — contrary to Mr Coates' wishes.

In his appeal, Mr Coates writes: "I am taking the liberty to ask for your support for my amended following preferred team." In what are touted to be free and fair elections — and a secret ballot — Mr Coates then outlines what he would like to happen as he bids to protect his 27-year presidency of the committee.

He asks Australia's summer and seven winter federations to re-elect him president and to install trusted deputies Ian Chesterman and Helen Brownlee as vice-presidents.

Mr Coates suggests electors then list Matt Allen (sailing), Mark Arbib (athletics), Craig Carracher (volleyball), Kitty Chiller (modern pentathlon), Evelyn Halls (fencing) and David Hynes (baseball/softball) as board members.

=============

One would hope that #railfail is a distant memory by 2024/28 ... 

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane's 2028 Olympic bid: Audit of public infrastructure begins

COUNCILS trying to lure the Olympics to southeast Queensland have started an audit of public infrastructure to make sure the region can handle the world's biggest sporting event.

The audit ties in with a large-scale feasibility study, due to be completed early next year, to determine Brisbane's capability of hosting the 2028 Olympic Games.

It comes as the Australian Olympic Committee's John Coates used the Brisbane bid as a carrot for his re-election as president, which is ­expected to be announced today.

However, southeast Queensland's Council of Mayors said regardless of today's result, they would continue to work on their feasibility study for a Queensland Olympic Games in 2028. "We'll contin­ue to thoroughly and cautiously work on it. We think a major event like this would elevate southeast Queensland on the world stage," a spokesperson said.

The study is expected to be finalised early next year before a bid application is made in 2019.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said the SEQCOM Olympic proposal was about making sure the region had appropriate infrastructure to host major events.

"We've got to make sure that infrastructure, public transport is all right. Not just in Ipswich or Brisbane or Gold Coast – right across southeast Queensland," Cr Pisasale said.

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said the focus should remain on the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

"Let's not forget that we've got the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games just around the corner, and we are completely focused on making sure that that is the most spectacular event in Australia that we will see this decade," she said.

[Cazza]

Honestly, if Brisbane wants to keep its dignity (or what's left of it anyway), then this is probably not the best step to take. We should be bidding for an Olympics AFTER rail fail is history and CRR has been built. Without CRR (and other crucial network upgrades), the city's PT network will crumble days, if not weeks, before the games even begin!

[BrizCommuter]

Due to lack of public transport Brisbane will probably build an Olympic stadium with a 100,000 capacity car park.

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

[achiruel]

 Maybe Qld could be ready by about...2056? 

[Cazza]

Maybe Qld could be ready by about...2056? 

Jeez, you are a bit optimistic!! 

[ozbob]

 

[ozbob]

On the bright side, an Olympics Bid might be the only way that Queensland can get past #railfail and #NGRfail.

Certainly at present there is some disagreement within the Council of SEQ Mayors.  Quirky is gungho, not so some of the others.

Promise the naysayers paths of gold and I am sure they will come on board ...

[ozbob]

[Mr X]

I hate to be a downer and I know its something which a lot of people would love us to have but honestly speaking I don't think Brisbane or SEQ can pull it off. We're talking about hosting a high security international event in just 11 years. 11 years ago was 2006. As it is, CRR probably won't start construction until 2020 at the earliest, if at all, let alone all the sporting, transport, accommodation infrastructure needed etc. to the point where taking it seriously is bordering on foam.

I say let Paris/LA have 2024 and 2028 as was suggested by the IOC.

[ozbob]

I am inclined to agree Mr X.

Fantasy to think SEQ is up to it.  The only reason it has come up again in recent days was due to Coates pushing to save his backside.

We are talking about a jurisdiction that cannot even run a suburban railway to adequate service levels, embrace essential bus network reform.

There is realisation within the Council of SEQ Mayors that we do not have the overall facilities and transport to do it.  And judging on present and past form unlikely to have fixed it by 2028 to be frank.  Queensland is rooted.

[ozbob]

Send to all outlets:

7 May 2017

Olympics for SEQ - a dream

Good Morning,

Does anyone really think that SEQ could deliver the Olympic Games in 2028?  We are talking about a jurisdiction that cannot even run a suburban railway system to adequate service levels or embrace essential bus network reform.

The only reason the Olympics is back in the news is because Mr Coates was desperate to survive the challenge as head of the AOC.

There is value in the Council of  Mayors (SEQ) exploring the notion of the Olympics as it does highlight the gross deficiencies we have particularly with transport.

Based on present and past experience it is unlikely that various agencies and authorities could get their collective acts together in time to sort the issues.  Cross River Rail has been on the burner now for nine years.  And it still is in doubt.  Until Queensland gets it act together Olympics will be just a dream.

Wake up Queensland!

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

Reference:

Council of Mayors (SEQ) - Pre-feasibility Analysis of a potential South East Queensland bid for the 2028 Olympic Games
http://seqmayors.qld.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/FINAL_Pre-feasibility-Analysis-of-a-Potential-SEQ-Bid-for-the-2028-Olympic-Games.pdf

[ozbob]

Latest: Olympics for SEQ - a dream
> https://t.co/fTygC6Mjxg#qldpol@AnnastaciaMP @jackietrad @Team_Quirk @SEQMayors @PaulPisasale pic.twitter.com/uerkDnFHAu

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) May 6, 2017

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

[James]

It'll never get up, the 2024 bid is sunk for sure, with 2028 not too far behind. At the moment, Brisbane is the least liveable out of the 5 major cities, not to mention our sporting venues are all over the place and mostly inaccessibly by PT. Melbourne would have a better case. I don't think it is a bad idea pushing it, though. Politicians love talk about sport, a lot of talk about Olympics and being "Olympics-ready" could get some funding for Cross River Rail.

An Olympics bid may be the only way to get all three levels of government to bite the bullet and start building serious infrastructure.

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 8th May 2017 page 13

Transport not ready for Olympics

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Why cities are bailing from the Olympic bid process

As the International Olympic Committee embarks this week on tours of the two cities competing to host the 2024 Olympics, there's growing sentiment that a consolation prize will be looming. To the victor: The 2024 Summer Games. And to the runner-cup: Wait four years and host the 2028 Olympics.

While the arrangement could be viewed as a testament to the strength of the bids put forth by Los Angeles and Paris, it also reveals a stark reality about hosting an Olympics in the 21st century: Costs are exorbitant, economic benefits dubious and fewer and fewer cities bother even throwing their hats in the ring.

Chris Dempsey knows this better than most. He helped create a blueprint of sorts that in relatively short order has invited scrutiny of the process, helping galvanize skeptical populations, prompting cities across the world to pull out of consideration and forcing the IOC to acknowledge and consider flaws. Thomas Bach, the IOC president, recently said the organization "cannot ignore that we have an issue with the candidature process."

Just two years ago, Dempsey was debating with buddies whether Boston should pursue the 2024 Games and whether it would actually benefit the city. The Olympics' recent track record isn't great: cost overruns, empty stadiums left behind, corruption scandals.

Dempsey helped lead the grass-roots movement No Boston Olympics that prompted the city to pull out of the bidding process for the 2024 Games. He then consulted with similar activists in Hamburg, Rome and Budapest, and those cities also eventually bailed. So pointed are his arguments that he's also contributed to opposition research. Organizers in Calgary - which hosted the Games in 1988 - considering a bid on the 2026 Winter Games brought him in to hear the concerns and make sure they grasp the opposing viewpoints.

"I truly believe the experience in Boston is and should be instructive for people on both sides of the Olympic debate," said Dempsey, who this month released the book, "No Boston Olympics: How and Why Smart Cities Are Passing on the Torch."

"I like to think that what happened in Boston really has been an example in other cities," he said. "I think that really there is something to be said for the momentum that Boston created."

While civic and business leaders prepared Boston's bid, Dempsey and a couple of friends began studying recent Olympic history and the actual impact left behind for host cities. When the U.S. Olympic Committee decided in January 2015 to put forth Boston as the U.S. candidate best-suited to host the 2024 Games, Dempsey said his living-room protest ramped up significantly.

Dempsey became one of the frontmen for the growing opposition, using the platform to highlight his basic thesis about the Olympics: It's surely lucrative for the IOC but can be disastrous for host cities. While bid organizers tend to paint optimistic projections, No Boston Olympics felt it publicized more realistic and likely outcomes. When Boston ultimately pulled its bid in July 2015 - the USOC selected Los Angeles as a replacement - Dempsey thought his work was done.

Then his vote started ringing. Groups from Hamburg, Rome and Budapest, cities also pursuing the 2024 Games, all had some variation of the same question: How'd you do it?

"I wanted to be helpful in explaining how the IOC process is set up that tends to lead to these really negative outcomes for the host cities," said Dempsey. "Even though the IOC and its sponsors do great and the TV contracts are profitable, it's still the case where these host cities have bad outcomes."

Dempsey began spreading the Boston blueprint. Share the facts. Take advantage of the Internet and social media. Garner media attention. He talked about logos and signs and messaging.

"It was a super-encouraging thing to learn that a small but well-prepared team could pull it off, without having hundreds of thousands of dollars, or a political party behind them," said Tam??s Csillag, one of the Budapest organizers.

The Hungarian opponents collected more than 250,000 signatures and forced a referendum on the issue. Local government leaders were so nervous that they decided to cancel the bid entirely in February, leaving only Paris and Los Angeles in the 2024 race. The IOC will vote to determine the 2024 host in September in Lima, Peru.

Calgary's bid exploration committee invited Dempsey to deliver a presentation in February.

"We're really committed to hearing all sides of the story. We thought Chris could bring some valuable perspective. He gave an excellent presentation," said Sean Beardow, a spokesman for Calgary's bid exploration committee. "It's been important to Calgary from Day 1 that it's not just about whether Calgary fits with the Olympics but if the Olympics fits with Calgary."

While Dempsey and the Boston activists might have created a template for dissent, the LA2024 committee hopes its bid offers a blueprint for other cities moving forward. Their plan calls for no structures that will be built specifically for the Olympics and a $5.3 billion budget that would be significantly lower than the price tags attached to recent Olympic Games. And perhaps key, it has widespread public support.

"Just at every touch point, the community of Los Angeles in the largest possible sense is entirely supportive and embraces the idea of hosting an Olympic Games in 2024," said Casey Wasserman, the LA 2024 chairman. "That is unique. We are an oasis of optimism."

Wasserman says the legacy of the successful 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles has buoyed enthusiasm around the region to play host once again. An independent poll found that 88 percent of Los Angeles residents support the bid; the city council has had 10 votes related to hosting and all passed unanimously.

While that very well might help Los Angeles secure the 2024 Games - or perhaps the 2028 Olympics - it's not yet clear whether the lasting impact of this process will be on the bids that cities submit to host an Olympics or the opposition that organizes around them.

While the IOC's evaluation committee this week tours Los Angeles and then Paris, its ultimate decision could send a lasting message about what a successful bid should look like. Even as the IOC acknowledges the current bidding process might have problems, not everyone is optimistic that the paucity of bidding cities will prompt the organization to make any meaningful changes.

"I don't see an incentive structure for the IOC to be any different tomorrow or five years from now or 10 years from now than it is today," Dempsey said. "As long as they have at least one bid, the Games will go on, they'll still be profitable and still have these lavish events."

Washington Post

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/GuardianAus/status/872524354327859200

[OzGamer]

They always talked about Brisbane/SEQ 2028, but I've taken it for granted that a serious bid would be for 2032.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/NPR/status/884868176294445056

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/walmason/status/884919480341610496

[SurfRail]

Good!

The Olympics is an order of magnitude bigger than the Commonwealth Games, and it's not clear what kind of legacy the Olympics would leave for SEQ that we couldn't get just by pumping money into transport and other infrastructure separately. 

Commonwealth Games is a catalyst for getting some decent transport improvements in the biggest non-capital city in Australia at (relatively) modest cost, so I have much less in the way of reservations about those.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/7NewsBrisbane/status/906435351631216640

[Stillwater]

Good grief!  Seriously?  We can't even promise all will be good for the Commonwealth Games.  Is this one of those 'feel good' issues that crop up before an election and disappears afterwards.  Just think of all those people wanting to catch the VFT from Sydney.   

There would have to be a fleet of bicycles to satisfy demand.  And how will they know that the Friday timetable is different from the Mon-Thurs timetable?

[ozbob]

It is difficult I agree, to have much faith in the grand plans.  We have lots of plans, not much action.

A jurisdiction that struggles to do the basics, such as essential bus network reform and manage a suburban railway, is always going to be treading water in the big picture.  Until we can sort the fundamentals, have organisational structures that actually deliver,  what chance the big stuff?

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Future Brisbane: Rio Games advisors to study Games plan for Brisbane

A COMPANY that helped win the Olympics for Rio de Janeiro has been hired to investigate whether Brisbane should mount a bid for the 2032 Games.

Switzerland-based consultants Event Knowledge Services has been awarded the contract to carry out a feasibility study examining whether an attempt to secure the world's biggest sporting event would help fast-track infrastructure needed by the region over the next decade or two.

The group, headed by Queenslander Craig McLatchey – a former Australian Olympic Committee secretary-general and member of the Sydney 2000 organising committee – will also look at the potential long-term tourism and investment benefits that could flow from the international attention.

The firm's strategic and technical advice helped the Brazilian city secure the 2016 Olympics and they have advised 24 cities in 20 countries on preparing for major sports events.

A report for the SEQ Council of Mayors, to be delivered mid next year, will recommend whether to go to the next level of discussion with the International Olympic Committee. A formal bid would not be needed for several years.

Mr McLatchey said "Olympic factor'' had the power to unlock national and international investment and previous hosts such as Barcelona were enjoying the city-changing benefits decades later.

But potential gains had to be balanced against risks. "If the region is ready and it's the right thing at the right time, I would love to see an Olympic Games. But we are a long way from that decision,'' he said.

Leading demographer and social commentator Bernard Salt, who conducted exclusive research for The Courier-Mail's Future Brisbane series, says working towards a tilt at staging the Games would be a "terrific'' way to focus the city on continued growth and lift its profile.

"Think absolutely global," he said. "Brisbane will never be London, New York or Tokyo – and wouldn't want to be – but it can certainly step up to the next tier.

"What I've found extraordinary is the confidence and unity of people behind a common vision for Brisbane. There is a real sense that the city's time has come – that it has emerged from the shadow of Sydney and Melbourne.''

The 1.18 million jobs in the region is 87,000 above the number needed at this point to meet the 2031 goal of 1.5 million workers, while the economy is nudging $150 billion – well on course to top the $217 billion target. A Cities of the Future report earlier this year ranked Brisbane fourth in the world for direct foreign investment strategy.

Brisbane Marketing chief executive Brett Fraser said the series had highlighted the advantage that relative housing affordability gave the city.

The key theme from the Future Brisbane campaign is the opportunity to get things right before the region's population reaches three million in 2031, acting now to avoid the overcrowding and choking gridlock of the southern capitals.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said: "The Future Brisbane campaign has shown an optimistic future but there's more to be done."

The 22-point Action Plan published by The Courier-Mail today includes initiatives to develop employment hubs close to fast-growing outer suburbs, encourage new housing options, commit to ongoing public transport and road solutions, boost new industries such as robotics and leverage the airport expansion to attract tourism, business, investment and international students.

A new global precincts strategy to be released by the Brisbane City Council later this year will highlight how zones of specialisation such as education, health and medical research and technology can help attract global talent.

Underpinning it all – liveability. A green, friendly city with a perfect climate poised for an exciting new era of entertainment, dining and leisure options, with a much greater focus on the river.

"People talk about Sydney Harbour – the Brisbane River can be our special place,'' James Tuma, national director of city-shaping specialists Urbis, said.

Catalytic projects including a second airport runway, the Cross River Rail and Metro public transport systems, a new cruise ship terminal and the Queens Wharf integrated resort precinct will position it to become a modern hub based on lifestyle.

But he warned that "a stumble'', such an incoming LNP state government scrapping Cross River Rail could set the city back a decade.

Mr Salt's research shows that Brisbane is outperforming targets for economic and employment growth in the "New World City'' strategy drawn up by the City Council and Brisbane Marketing.

" ... But he warned that "a stumble'', such an incoming LNP state government scrapping Cross River Rail could set the city back a decade. ... "

More like several generations.  It is already teetering on the abyss of failure .. reality ....