WELCOME

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I'd like to start by acknowledging and saying hello to our first Nations people of Meanjin or Brisbane home of the Turrbal and Yuggerapeoples peoples, and their Elders. Past present and emerging who have cared for this land of 60,000 years.

 

 I had the pleasure of meeting with some of the elders in June, in my first stakeholder meetings.

 

My very first ones on my new role in Brisbane 2032 where we discussed the quest for truth-telling. With that said, some families of the Turrbal and Yuggera People have requested I share the following messages from that meeting.

 

The Ruska Family represented by the Yabarabul Elders Cultural Heritage and Languages Aboriginal Corporation said: “The opportunity for First Nations people cannot be overlooked.  Economic opportunities must be delivered, and environmental management is critical to leaving a real legacy for First Nations from the Olympics and Paralympics.”

 

The Sandy family reminded me that: “the Olympics and Paralympics will come and go, however, the importance of managing the environmental impacts of the Games, including land conversation and management, is of particular importance and cannot be overlooked or underestimated.”  

 

The Barambah Family said: “the potential opportunities to support not only the Turrbal and Yuggerapeoples but all First Nations is fundamental to build social and economic opportunities and well-being.”

 

I come from the Northern Territory and I also come from Queensland and I feel it is very important that our citizens of the First Nations people's be heard. 

 

Thank you also to those leaders from across all levels of government who have joined us today.  Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics and Paralympics Sporting Engagement, Sterling Hinchcliffe. It's really a pleasure to work with you Sterling and we’ll have a lot more to say about that later in my talk.

 

And the Leader of the Opposition in Queensland, David Crisafulli is here. Thank you for being here David. Federal Member for Moreton and fellow board member whom I just met in person, Graham Perrett, thank you for being here and for being on our board Graham. I believe the Lord Mayor is here. I haven't sighted you yet, warm welcome. Nice to have you here. We've spent a lot of time on the phone, over the last few months, and really gotten to enjoy building a relationship with Adrian Schrinner of course, he also chairs the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors, which is my very next point. 

 

The Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Councillors from Moreton Bay, Toowoomba, Lockyer Valley Scenic Rim, Noosa, Logan, Redland, Sommerset, Sunshine Coast and Mount Isa Councils, thank you for being here.

 

It shows the significance of this event for all of us from the mayor's point of view. And of course, I have my fellow Brisbane 2032 board members who are here.

 

And welcome to the superstars of Brisbane 2032 our Paralympians and Olympians all of you who are in the room. Thank you. We're doing this for you and because of you, because we're so proud of the excellence you've shown on the field in the swimming pool or wherever you have shown it, thank you. 

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RAISING THE BAR

I cannot tell you how excited I am to be doing this job at this time. I am absolutely a typical Australian. 

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I am a sports addict - and the thought of bringing the world’s sporting elite together for a global competition of this scale is just incredible.

 

I am a businessman and am thrilled by the prospect of seeing the world’s biggest customers and investors come to Australia so that we can demonstrate our ingenuity, our innovation and our entrepreneurship to the world. 

 

I am a philanthropist who is committed to ensuring that the Games unite our global family and benefit Australians irrespective of where they live and what they earn.  

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It’s an obvious point, and a critical one, that when you’re planning a new Olympic and Paralympic Games, you have an opportunity to meet with the International Olympic Committee and other OCOGs to shape the future of the global sporting events industry.

 

It is primarily an avenue to recognise excellence in sport. And it is the event that brings humanity together. And with it comes the opportunity to recognise resilience, persistence, determination, humility, grit and courage. 

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The Games in Brisbane 2032, allow us to think about the impact we want to make to our society, to our economy and to our planet. 
 

So what can the games of the future look like? How do we shape the Games to celebrate our local context? How do we reflect the diverse, dynamic, modern, and increasingly digital society that we live in today and that will sustain us in 2032 and beyond? How do we ensure the Games are keeping up with society as we know it today, from the digital native that is in their teens to the baby boomer who is experiencing a more connected retirement? 

 

How can we raise the bar, lead the way and inspire people around the world to embrace a new way of living, working and playing through the paradigm of sport?

 

My International Olympic Committee executive colleagues and I met earlier this month to discuss the future of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including how we optimise and innovate across Games delivery, Games experience, sustainability, impact and legacy.

 

And we agreed that:

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• Firstly - sport must remain at the core of Games delivery
   

• Secondly - The Games should always reflect current societal standards, leading to a state of constant evolution.
   

• And critically - the choices we make on Games delivery should adapt and reflect the local surroundings of any Games, drawing down on the strength of the region

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GAMES OF THE FUTURE​

 

The question I have for you today is a critical one, how will Brisbane 2032 shape the games of the future?

 

To answer this important question it is useful for us to explore the past, understand our present, and then decide together to imagine this future.

 

When I first took on this role as President of Brisbane 2032, I talked about the importance of listening and learning from all of society and its constituent parts about what makes a great Olympics and Paralympics games so we can apply what we learn to Brisbane 2032.

 

I've spent the last few recent months meeting with the Games leaders of the world. I've met with the leaders of London, 2012, Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026, LA 2028 and of course, the International Olympic and Paralympic committee.

 

These leaders have generously shared, their ideas, insights and experiences giving us the advantage of their hindsight and some cases and foresight in others. 

 

The advice I have received relates to the importance of keeping sport at the centre of our planning and building everything out around it, which is also the key theme for all of them.

 

And then of course, to the foundational planning workforce design, business planning, and how to create a high-performance workforce. It also relates to having operational plans, to ensure we meet our sustainability targets and deliver climate-positive Games, and the commercial elements of the games, all of that makes sense, but how now do we lift the bar?

 

How do we create pathways for our athletes after their sporting careers? How do weave into the fabric of these Games opportunities to celebrate, recognize and benefit, our First Nations people and people of diverse backgrounds?

 

How do we attract the world to Australia in 2032, to Brisbane in this region, and use the event to lift our country's brand our state brand and our regional brand higher on the world stage?

 

How do we serve the environment to encourage visitors to come for the sport, stay for the business and make the investment? And remember the experience fondly? 

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INNOVATION

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I took great inspiration from the experience of the cities that recently hosted the Games. Look at Tokyo 2020. This was a Games that, by necessity, had to be agile, to optimise and be ready to change tack, due to the pandemic. It delivered significant innovation in Games delivery. For example 81% of their competition venues used temporary or existing infrastructure. The Olympic Village became Japan’s first hydrogen powered town, 5,000 medals were created using 100% recycled materials, including 6.21 million mobile phones, and 79,000 tons of donated electronics.

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In Beijing, for the first time in history, all venues were powered with renewable energy. Income from ice and snow tourism exceeded US$390 billion in the 2020-2021 snow season. How did they achieve these remarkable results? It came down to three important factors: The first is planning, the second is teamwork and the third is collaboration. 

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They used the deep knowledge and experience available to them. They worked out how to optimise their local industry and the strengths of their particular communities and economies and they innovated.

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BUSINESS MODELS

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So during these conversations, I also took the opportunity to learn about the various business and funding models of their Olympics and Paralympics Games.

 

Wind your mind back to 2012 and London, Usain Bolt triumphed yet again. The legacy of Elephant Park was delivered and James Bond escorted Her Majesty, our dearly departed Queen into the opening ceremony by parachute. And the Games business model was run by an organizing committee and an Olympic Development Authority that was governed by the federal and local governments largely using public funds.

 

Now, transport yourself to the Future and LA 2028, swimming pools, movie stars but an entirely privately funded business model but overseen by a joint organizing committee and Olympic and Paralympic Committee entity in partnership with the city of Los Angeles. This is the same bit of business model that was implemented for their 1984 games and works very efficiently, efficiently in their huge domestic market. 

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So Brisbane, 2032 in my mindset listening very carefully is LA 2028 and London 2012 combined. We do indeed have government input and oversight which also requires and it's requiring the organizing committee's finances to be cost-neutral. Effectively making us privately funded. You can't get there without the private funding model. That's why we're the hybrid.

 

Does it sound complex? You bet, I'm built for complex. However, there are clear lines of responsibility that are defined in the Olympic Host Contract to ensure we all deliver on time and on budget. It's all in the name. The Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games is responsible for organizing the Games.

 

As the owners of the Brisbane 2032 brand, we will coordinate and track the progress of all Games Delivery Partners and contributors to ensure that together, we deliver one of the most important events in the history of Queensland and Australia. We are the custodian of the Olympic Host Contract and the IOC’s mandate to Brisbane 2032. We will facilitate collaboration across all stakeholders, including all levels of government, the Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia.

 

Some of the Organising Committee’s operational responsibilities include: 
 

• the Games planning process
   

• raising revenue through sponsorship, philanthropy, ticketing and Brisbane 2032 merchandise
   

• managing the temporary overlay and operation of the venues, security
   

• recruiting the Brisbane 2032 volunteers and the other elements that bring together the event itself.

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Games Delivery Partners like the Queensland and Australian Governments also have a significant role in delivering:
 

• the venues
   

• athlete villages
   

• and supporting infrastructure
   

• in coordination with the Organising Committee, to ensure South East Queensland is ready to host the Game

 

The Queensland Government is currently in the process of leading a piece of work to determine the structure of how the venues and infrastructure will be delivered, and this will complement the existing Organising Committee governance that is already in place.

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Together we will deliver Brisbane 2032. 

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A LIFESTYLE SUPERPOWER
 

I have done a fair amount of travel in my time and I believe South East Queensland is one of the world’s best-kept secrets. Names like

Brisbane, Mooloolooba, Maroochydore, Gold Coast and Noosa do not penetrate the psyche and consciousness of the world’s tourists and investors.

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I know that is hard for you to believe. However and without any doubt, we are increasingly a hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship driving economic and employment opportunities, we’re a multi-generational region. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Southeast Queensland's superpower is our ingenuity, our innovation and entrepreneurship our hospitality and indeed our lifestyle. 

 

We want people to come well before the torch is lit and to stay long after the flame is out. And to help us communicate that and our unique blend to the world in an increasingly noisy and crowded market, we need to deliver the Brisbane 2032 brand. The brand unites our message, it gives us an opportunity to remind the world why they should come to Brisbane and this region and stay and do business here.

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The brand has a role to play in doing some of the heavy lifting on delivering cost-neutral games. We want to build a compelling brand that will attract a premium for merchandising and broadcasting sponsorship and drive ticket sales. We want to create a clearly defined brand that articulates our unique selling point as a Games and as a region. It will be critical to separate ourselves from other mega sporting events in the market.

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BRISBANE 2032 BRAND

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I want to be very clear here. The work we are doing on the brand is not just for Brisbane 2032. That would be limiting Queensland’s potential. The work we do on the brand will shape our ambitions for the legacy the Games leave Queensland over the coming decades. 

 

And what might that legacy look like? The Queensland Government, with the support of Minister Hinchliffe, has been leading the development of the Legacy planning process and coordinating Games Delivery Partners across each level of government with their participation.

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The Organising Committee is pleased to be involved in this process and we will continue to be eager collaborators, ensuring we play our role in delivering the elements of the legacy plan that we are responsible for in line with our obligations under the Olympic Host Contract.

 

Some of these areas include:
 

• games delivery
   

• commercial partnerships and economic growth
   

• sustainability, youth and sport engagement,
   

• inclusivity, diversity and beyond.

 

This is critical in these early years to define, not only the legacy that we want to leave behind but the pre-Games legacy, the impact that we want the Games to have - starting now. 

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I am confident our colleagues in the state and federal government who are responsible for venues and infrastructure delivery will ensure every dollar spent in this space will be done so with legacy in mind. Of course, the physical landscape will evolve as venues and transport are upgraded and other changes are made. The big difference with these Games is that they need to fit the city – we do not want to rebuild the city to fit the Games. This is the New Norm that the International Olympic Committee has set for us.

 

On a smaller scale, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games is a fantastic example in our own backyard of how to deliver a mega sporting event on a global stage, and then have a legacy of venues and infrastructure that fits the ongoing needs of the community, with the Gold Coast venues now in use almost every day of the year.

 

Beyond the hard infrastructure, it is the social infrastructure that I want to focus on for a moment. The Brisbane 2032 Games will encourage any member of the community to get involved in any sport. Whether it’s the virtual kind, the mental kind or the physical kind. Whatever the level, the intensity or the duration, our ambition is to get Australians moving. 

 

The Brisbane 2032 Games give us a chance to introduce a wider audience to our world-class arts and cultural communities. We have an opportunity to showcase the next generation of artists, authors and performers who capture the spirit of the nation. 

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The Games also give us a vital opportunity to bring people together and demonstrate the benefits of living in a successful multicultural community, one that is committed to diversity, belonging and inclusion. 

 

We can use the next decade to ensure that once we reach the Paralympics in 2032, our society celebrates people with disabilities and the necessary physical, financial and social mechanisms exist in order to do so.Every person holds value and deserves recognition. To establish a truly barrier-free society of this kind, we need to consciously develop, and live, the plan that delivers this legacy.

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SUSTAINABILITY​

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I'm also keen to see us take advantage of the opportunity the Games provide to Brisbane and Queensland and Australia. Those ambitions extend to improving the health and quality of the economy, our environment and our society. 

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With a 10-year runway, we have the luxury of time. I recently spoke with colleagues in LA 2028 on what a 10-year runway can offer from a sustainability perspective. Both LA and Brisbane as Olympic Hosts are equally unique because we are both afforded a 10-year horizon. The 2028 Games Plan is built on a radical reuse strategy, leveraging the very best the city has to offer in stadiums, arenas, training facilities and residences to host the Games. 

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For LA that means very few if any new venues, leveraging the University of Southern California and UCLA facilities. Like LA 2028, we will follow a 3 + 3 + 3+ 1 year planning model.

 

We should have no aspiration less than that. And with a 10-year runway, yes, we have the luxury of time, but we won't waste it. When I spoke to our colleagues in LA recently,  on what a 10-year runway can offer from a sustainability perspective, they gave me a sense that both LA and Brisbane as Olympic and Paralympic, hosts are especially unique because we've been afforded this gift of 10 years.

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Be patient with us, be urgently patient, but be patient with us. 
 

INDUSTRY

You all know I am passionate about Advanced Manufacturing. Imagine, if we took the opportunity over the next 10 years to create world-leading technology and shorten the supply chains, while building sovereign capability. The Queensland government's recent announcement of their 60 billion dollar investment into renewable energy is one strong step in that direction calling on industry to help to manufacture components locally.

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Australia can then become the advanced manufacturing centre of excellence in the region, and we can demonstrate its application by supplying the Games with those products and services that are #madeinAustralia. It's within our remit, it's not beyond us, and it's doable.

 

Our water can be recycled, drones can transport and deliver lightweight goods, and soon even people. Nanomaterials and metamaterials can transform the manufacturing of all facilities. Volunteer uniforms and clothing can be recycled into products to be used. Our transport infrastructure can be free and include autonomous buses. The future is ours to shape. These are not dreams, these are possible realities.

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Look at one sector for just a moment. The sports tech industry. Fast emerging, a critical space influencing, how athletes train and compete, how fans engage including virtual reality, and how they consume content, as well as how venues are developed.

 

The Australian Sports Technology Network released its Sports Innovation report in July this year, which demonstrated has been exponential Sports Tech growth worldwide, the global Sports Tech industry is estimated to be worth now USD17.9 billion and is expected to grow by 17 and a half per cent per annum to US 40 billion dollars by 2026.

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How can we make it clear to the world that what we make here should be made here and what could we make here? This brings me back to the Brisbane 2032 brand.

 

GOING TO MARKET

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It gives me great pleasure to announce today that were releasing the organizing committee's first, major package of work for Brisbane 2032 into the market, the delivery of the Brisbane 2032 brand.

 

An invitation to offer goes live today via the Queensland Government's Q- Tenders website.

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I invite all businesses to bring your best ideas and your best bids. And when you do, make sure you are Brisbane 2032 ready.

 

Take the time to read the Brisbane, 2032 Olympic Host Contract, the Bid Documents and the International Olympic Committee's new norms and expectations, which are all publicly available. 
 

Learn about the commitments we've made and think about how you can contribute. Show us your sustainability and ESG credentials. Tell us, if you have supply chain transparency, whether you undertake proactive engagement with our First Nations people and what your workforce, local employment and diversity profiles look like. Tell us what percentage of people with disabilities you've employed in your business.

 

These are all questions we’re asking in this process and our future procurement processes over the coming years, will mimic that and reflect it. I encourage everyone to do their planning homework and be ready to put their best foot forward. We expect no less. This is the Olympic Games of 2032 we're talking about. 

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FOUNDATIONAL PLANNING

This brand strategy will be one of our foundational planning pieces for the next 10 years. Future procurement packages from the Organising Committee will support this planning work, including knowledge, finance, and people management systems, data capture systems and technology.

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This will help us ensure we have the right building blocks for the organisation and the Games as a whole. Brisbane 2032 is an enormous opportunity for businesses across Australia to showcase their products and services to a global audience.

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I know something else you're waiting for is our CEO recruitment. We definitely need the right leader to assemble those building blocks. I need that CEO more than you can imagine. The last four months have been pretty busy. Things have been pretty busy.  I know you are eagerly awaiting a name. I can tell you that the board is meeting this Friday, we are down to a handful of names. I'm not ready to share a name with you because we have a handful. The global search has been extensive, and the quality of candidates, unbelievable. We will prepare a shortlist, interview the candidates and hopefully by November, make the announcement. 

 

In the meantime please I encourage everyone please stay focused on the big picture. The global picture. Lift your heads, and look up. Brisbane 2032 is such an enormous opportunity for businesses across Australia to showcase their products and services to a global audience. 

 

As a good friend once said to me - our job is to plan the work and to work the plan. 

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My team is energised by the enthusiasm for Brisbane 2032 locally and globally. What excites me more than anything else, is that these Games are the ultimate collaboration in the national interest - in Australia’s interest. 

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We are coming together first and foremost to celebrate sporting excellence and to provide an unforgettable sporting experience for the athletes and their supporters. We are also coming together as exceptional hosts, generous with our time and our talent. To give those who join us as guests, who work alongside us as volunteers and who watch us from the audience a welcome, the likes of which they’ve never experienced. 

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We are coming together to transform our businesses so that they remain competitive, to remove the friction for our customers and visitors, and to ensure that our organisations remain in the service of our users, our environment, our customers, our shareholders and our diverse communities. 

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We are coming together as innovators, to research and deliver better solutions to problems we face and opportunities we uncover 

to commercialise these ideas, to welcome customers and investors from around the world, and to scale our businesses globally. 

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We are in a privileged position in that we are on target with our schedule and about four years ahead in comparison to other Games. Most other Games are in our delivery position six years out, not 10. 

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I welcome each and every person here, to join us in making the most of this tremendous opportunity. As the industry leaders of our state, I look to you to help us manage and harness the strength of enthusiasm within the community so that we’re all taking the time to learn, think, research and plan together, before running full speed into delivery mode.
 

CONCLUSION​

 

So here we are at the start of an incredible journey towards Brisbane 2032.

 

A journey for sports addicts, business people, philanthropists like me

 

A journey for researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs for investors.

 

A journey for volunteers, workers, sponsors and for hosts.

 

A journey for dreamers, designers, performers and storytellers.

 

For our athletes and our para-athletes.

 

A journey for all Australians together.

 

Thank you. 

...

RESOURCES

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• Broadcast of speech to Queensland Media Club

• Transcript of speech delivered

• Tender for Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Brand Strategy​

• New report shows the future looks fit for Australia’s $3.1bn sportstech industry