Brisbane 2032: Sport is the reason but not the only opportunity for Toowoomba Region

26 sports, 25 venues, 10,500 athletes, 8,000 staff, TV audience of 3.6 billion, 8.2 million tickets on sale and 40,000 meals served daily in the Athletes Village.  For Paris 2024, 65% of produce for those meals has been sourced from within a 250km radius of Paris. The Olympics are not just about the athletes, but a collaborative effort across industry and sport.

Our job is to represent our region and help our businesses be best positioned to benefit from the biggest show on earth.

Last week at our July Enterprise Evening we welcomed a panel speakers, including Grantley Switzer, Sunshine Coast Council Brisbane 2032 Lead, Anita Palm, 1996 Athens Olympian and OCOG Advisor and Aleisha Neumann, Paris 2024 Technical Official (Hockey) and Toowoomba local. 

Based on a KPMG Games Benefits study, The Brisbane Games will deliver $17.6billion of benefit nationally with $8.1B of that benefit being realised in Queensland. An estimated 2.8 million international visitors will come to South East Queensland during the Games. Once fully operational the Brisbane Organising Committee for the Olympics Games (OCOG) will have 43 functional areas ranging from security, construction, venue overlay, cleaning, branding, marketing, sustainability, healthcare, media operations, broadcast, spectator services, and of course the sport delivery teams.

Mark Mason’s role, as TSBE’s Olympic Strategy Manager, is to get a seat at the table and help shape the delivery of The Games. He shares his thoughts on our approach to Brisbane 2023, emphasising a future focus on regional preparedness and unity:

What do we have to offer?

Instead of thinking about what we should get or what we deserve, as a region we should be thinking about

What do we have to offer The Games? How do we want the world to view us during The Games? What will our global reputation be after The Games? By focusing on these questions and challenging ourselves to be ready to capture our Olympic moments as they come along will create a meaningful legacy for the region well beyond the Olympic flame being extinguished in 2032.

What are we doing about it?

Regional preparedness: We have just hosted the Toowoomba Marathon. This high volume, high impact event; dealing with the regulatory processes and the community feedback sets us up to deliver future major global events. Hosting the Marathon meant strategically partnering with event specialist who are willing to work with our region to provide industry development opportunities whilst growing a product that drives economic and social outcomes in our community. The Marathon is year one of a long-term project to build regional capacity around major event planning and delivery.

Relationship Capital and Influence: Engaging with the OCOG and International Olympic Committee (IOC) builds our relationships to influence Brisbane 2032 Policy for the benefit of our region. We have a seat at this table especially in the development of the Sustainability and Procurement Policy, which will be how local businesses can leverage work from the Games.

Getting Games Ready:

• Keeping an eye on what is happening at the Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 Games will help us to better understand Games delivery models. Those learnings and intel will provide lived experience as the best learning tool for our region.
• We need to understand the capabilities and capacity of what’s required, and match to the businesses in our region.
• We know the Brisbane 2032 games will be carbon positive and sustainably focused.
• Thinking about how your business can provide a solution to a Games delivery problem, and what steps can be taken now to set yourself up to meet the requirements of The Games is the core part of TSBE’s work.