Mayor Jamieson meets IOC president

Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson met International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach today to signal the South-East Queensland region’s interest in a potential bid for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Mayor Jamieson and Council of Mayors (SEQ) executive director Peter Olah made the trip to Sydney to see Mr Bach, while Brisbane Lord Mayor Cr Graham Quirk joined the talks via a video link.

Australian Olympic Committee president and IOC vice-president John Coates also attended the meeting.

The Mayors of South-East Queensland (SEQ) have unanimously agreed to support the investigation of a regional bid, led by Brisbane, for the 2028 Olympic Games.

In March, Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Sports Minister Sussan Ley indicated the Federal Government’s would be willing to discuss a potential SEQ Olympic bid once detailed feasibility studies had been undertaken.

Mr Coates has since written to the Council of Mayors (SEQ) giving an in-principle commitment to support the region in the bid exploration process.

“We received an enthusiastic, supportive, encouraging response,” Mayor Jamieson said of this morning’s meeting.

“Clearly there is a lot of work to be done and we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves at the moment.

“However, this is an outstanding opportunity for South-East Queensland and one we are committed to explore.

“Mr Bach’s visit to Australia has given us a unique chance to talk to him personally about what is entailed in a bid and outline our current thoughts on 2028.

“It’s encouraging that a relatively new stated aim of the IOC is to make bidding processes more economically viable for potential candidates.

“It must be noted that no funding has been allocated towards the bid while we are still gathering the initial information.”

The Council of Mayors (SEQ) is focussed on feasibility work before any further formal discussions are undertaken in relation to a regional SEQ bid for the 2028 Games.

A formal expression of interest is not required until January 2019 with a formal bid deadline later that year.