MAYOR’S MESSAGE – Teresa HArding
We are six short years away from the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Coinciding with this has been Australia’s exciting run in football’s FIFA World Cup, which united the nation.
It shows there is no under- estimating the power of green and gold.
In the World Cup, our TV screens showed games being played in 16 cities spread across vast geographical distances.
That same vibe will be experienced right here in Queensland in six years, with Ipswich front and centre as a key part of the excitement.
Ipswich enjoys the rare privilege of being a co-host city for the 2032 Games, with only a dozen Queensland councils being able to lay claim to this honour.
The release of the 2032 Delivery Plan confirmed Ipswich’s Brighton Homes Arena remains a 2032 Games venue ahead of the finalisation of the sports program this year.
Modern Pentathlon has been speculated as an option for Brighton Homes Arena, a sport that has been a continuous part of the Summer Olympics since 1912 and remains in the LA 2028 program.
We know there are not enough venues or training facilities for all sports – and we have new sports still to be announced as part of the 2032 Games program.
I believe that should be our focus and we should remain proactive and positive about the role we will play in the Brisbane 2032 Games, along with pushing for legacy projects for our city.
A key legacy project is a tartan track, which Ipswich City Council is working to deliver
Council is advocating to the Federal and State Governments for $20 million to deliver the project as a lasting Olympic and Paralympic legacy for our city and to assist our world-class athletes such as rising sprint star Gout Gout.
The western grandstand construction as part of the North Ipswich Sport and Entertainment Precinct also presents a major opportunity to support pre-Games training while encouraging greater community participation in sport.
Games legacies will come in many more forms than just venues – including upskilling and job creation, cultural and creative industries, tourism, manufacturing and supply chain opportunities, health and wellbeing, and youth engagement.
Council is seizing the golden opportunities presented by the global mega-event as athletes and tourists from across the world come here.
Having lived in Sydney through the 2000 Games, I have seen firsthand the immense social and economic benefits it can deliver, and I cannot wait for 2032 to see Ipswich front and centre delivering gold for these Games.
