This piece is part of our series on “Leveraging the Games for Local Development“. By sharing insights, best practices and success stories, this campaign seeks to inspire and guide future host cities to maximise the benefits of such global events.
Brisbane is on the “green and gold” runway to hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For Brisbane, this is a once in a generation opportunity to achieve long-term positive outcomes in the lead up to and long after the Games. Our Legacy timeframe includes the 8 years up to and 10 years after the Games and our city’s approach to planning for our Games legacy will ensure all of Brisbane benefits from the Games.
Planning for growth
Brisbane is one of Australia’s fastest growing capital cities. People come to Brisbane for its exceptional lifestyle, stunning subtropical climate, green surroundings and economic opportunities.
Brisbane City Council has been planning for the city’s unprecedented growth by making significant investments, including in public and active transport to keep the city moving. The turn-up-and-go Brisbane Metro will run on dedicated busways, linking the city to the suburbs. Our Bridges for Brisbane program is also enhancing the city’s connectivity, providing new active travel river crossings. The Kangaroo Point Bridge set to open in late 2024, will link the eastern suburbs of Brisbane with the city centre for pedestrians, cyclists and other active transport options.
We have embraced the International Olympics Committee’s (IOC) ‘New Norm’ by aligning legacy planning with our city’s strategic planning, maximising the use of our existing venues and only building new venues for the Games where there is a long-term community need. The spotlight will be on our city, with Games venues spread throughout Brisbane’s urban fabric, particularly in the inner city.
“We see the whole city as the “venue” for the Games”. Dy Currie
Our inner city will be at the heart of the action, playing a vital role in the success of the Brisbane 2032 Games. A concentration of Games venues, visitor destinations and live sites will allow the community to gather and celebrate.
© City of Brisbane Brisbane’s participation in the new Active, Healthy and Inclusive Cities’ program was announced in late 2023 at the opening of a new multi-sport and recreation reserve at Nudgee. The site has been transformed from a former landfill to a 12.7 hectare reserve which includes multi-use sports fields, a BMX pump track, playground, dog off-leash area and a suite of recreational facilities. (Left to right: Cr Krista Adams – Deputy Mayor Brisbane; Robert Cavallucci, CEO Football Queensland;Cr Adam Allan; Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner; Matt Carroll, CEO Australian Olympic Committee; Cr Tracy Davis)
Engaging with our residents
To shape and guide the future planning and infrastructure delivery for the inner city, we have developed Brisbane’s Inner City Strategy. The planning process strongly embraced this once in a generation legacy opportunity by asking Brisbane communities how they would like the city to look for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and beyond.
This citywide conversation and engagement program, named Inner Spark, featured workshops and pop-up events across the city, and led to 700,000 impressions across Council’s social media and external media and the creation of Brisbane’s Book of Big Ideas. We are now using those bold, bright ideas as creative input to help drive the evolution of Brisbane as a city and destination on the world stage.
Residents also contributed to The Brisbane 2032 Legacy Strategy, Elevate 2042: Making our region better, sooner, together through sport; a 20-year vision for lasting Games legacy produced by the Games Partners.
Brisbane’s young people are smart, motivated and have fresh perspectives, and will be in the initial stages of their careers when the Brisbane 2032 Games are held. That is why we have made a commitment to listen to their views by hosting an annual youth speaking event. First run in 2023, the purpose of this event is to hear ideas from young people with a focus on legacy outcomes for the Brisbane 2032 Games. Young people are given the opportunity to pitch their ideas for the future of Brisbane to the City of Brisbane’s Legacy Committee.
© City of Brisbane Brisbane’s high school students share their legacy ideas at the Brisbane Alive 2032+ Youth Speaking Event
Partnerships for a better Brisbane
A range of early legacy initiatives for the City of Brisbane are taking shape, prompted by new global partnerships. Brisbane has partnered with United Nations-Habitat on their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Cities Global Initiative, and is only the second city globally to achieve their Gold Level. Council has hosted the second annual youth speaking event focused on building momentum into the Games and listening to the future leaders of the city about their legacy ideas. The city is pursing innovative ways to deliver park and public realm upgrades in underutilised spaces, such as the multi-use play court which has been built in an under-utilised area beneath the Roma and Turbot Street underpass and available for everyone to enjoy.
As the Host City for the Games, there is a significant opportunity to leverage the event to help improve residents’ health and well-being.
The City of Brisbane is a signatory to the Olympic Cities Health and Physical Activities Commitment and is one of five cities globally to participate in the Active Healthy and Inclusive Cities’ Program; a landmark joint initiative of United Nations-Habitat and the IOC focused on how to build active healthy communities where sport, physical activity and active recreation are mainstreamed.
The Legacy begins now!
Brisbane is in the listening phase of our legacy journey and is engaging with key stakeholders and our community about how they can make their mark in planning for legacy from the Games. Council is working to secure a positive legacy for the City of Brisbane by planning and engaging with Brisbane’s communities, national government and global partners. Their bright ideas for Brisbane will help ensure the Games starts shaping our city long before – and long after – the curtain falls on the closing ceremony.
The OECD Programme on Global Events (cultural, sports and business) helps those involved build a legacy of local development. We work with event hosts from national or local governments, the private sector, and cultural, sports or business associations to reap greater local benefits from such events.
Dy Currie AM is Brisbane City Council’s Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Host City & Strategic Partnerships Branch Executive General Manager and the City Planner. Dy is a highly experienced planning executive with national and international experience in planning and economic development. Dy is the Co-Chair of UN Habitat’s Stakeholder Advisory Group, a Past President of the Commonwealth Association of Planners representing more than 40 000 planners around the world and a past member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Cities of Tomorrow. Dy was recognised in the Australia Day Honours list in 2020 for significant service to town planning and strategic urban development and appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). A past National President of the Planning Institute of Australia, Dy is a Life Fellow of PIA, an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (UK) and also a Fellow of the Urban Development Institute of Australia.