Minimising costs and creating a legacy are part of the “new norm” of Olympics Games planning, guests at an Ai Group webinar about the business opportunities of Brisbane 2032 heard this week.
The International Olympics Committee is “not interested in sending nations or states broke”, said Mike Kaiser, Director-General of the Queensland Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning.
“Brisbane 2032 isn’t an effort like past Olympics which have been incredibly grand and costly in terms of venues, precincts and infrastructure,” Mr Kaiser said at the webinar.
“The new norm is around reusing as much infrastructure as you can, pulling forward infrastructure that would have occurred anyway and avoiding creating anything that is specifically for the purpose of the Olympics only.
“That’s the new norm, and over the past 12 months (since Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Olympics), we’ve been understanding the implications of that.”
Mr Kaiser, whose department is involved with the master planning of Olympics precincts and venues, said the event would elevate Brisbane, just as Expo ‘88 had.
“Anyone who lived through that period got a sense of how Brisbane and the whole state ‘grew up’, and just as that put us on the national stage, we are looking forward to the Olympics taking us to that next step, in terms of our maturity and putting us on to the international stage.
“We can’t underestimate the opportunity this is for the state, the region, the city and the country. It is more than just two weeks of entertainment.
“We are very focused on the legacy that the Olympics will leave. That includes the physical legacy of improved venues, precincts and infrastructure.”
Applying “the new norm” means 84 per cent of venues for Brisbane 2032 will be existing or temporary.
There will be 15 major capital venue projects: six new and nine upgrades.
Four mega-projects in Brisbane are planned:
Planning is not just about sports venues, it’s about creating and linking precincts and making them pedestrian friendly, Mr Kaiser said.
As part of winning the bid, the Queensland Government is committed to a net carbon- positive Olympic Games.
This commitment brings challenges but also opportunities.
“It is going to have to drive a lot of innovation in terms of what we deliver, both in terms of the physical aspects of the venues and precincts, but also in the way we operate transportation and other things around the Olympics,” Mr Kaiser said.
“We are negotiating with international Olympics governance bodies around what our carbon budget will be and then offset anything we can't avoid, in terms of the carbon intensity of building the infrastructure and hosting the Olympics.”
There will be heavy weighting towards this obligation during the procurement process, which will roll out in stages over the next ten years.
Businesses are encouraged to understand the nature of the projects, align themselves to government procurement processes and partner with the private sector when the time comes.
“Getting familiar with, or at least starting to have those conversations, is important early activity for people to be involved in — then get yourself registered.
The Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will create a pipeline of opportunities for Queensland businesses to:
“We believe Australian industry can handle most of what we require to deliver the Olympics and that there would be limited opportunity for international involvement,” Mr Kaiser said.
“It's not as though we're not seeking ideas from around the world, but we think these construction tasks and the creation of these precincts and venues are primarily opportunities the Australian business community can absorb.”
Fellow panellist John Aitken echoed the importance of businesses thinking about the types of partnerships they shape and the relationships they have in order to embrace the opportunities that the Games present.
“So, if they want to mount a pitch for the Games and be part of those procurement programs, they should be ready and have compliance, registrations, capability, capacity, innovations and supply chains,” said Mr Aitken, Managing Director of Inspiring Cities, which specialises in economic development of globally competitive cities, inspiring precincts, destinations, tourism and major events.
“The Olympics have given us this turbo burst of opportunity, and it is important for businesses to think about the benefits further downstream.
“I'm confident the Government will work hard to make sure industry has visibility and that there is a strong information flow to industry.
“Without industry at the table to provide that input and conversation, we won't be able to achieve.”
We need to ensure we plan for well beyond the Olympics, Mr Aitken says.
Sydney was a claim of the best Olympics ever, but the follow-up vision behind that could have been better.
“(The Sydney Olympics) gained a lot of momentum in the lead-up, but it didn't have momentum afterwards,” Mr Aitken said.
“The government at the time basically said: ‘We've staged the greatest Olympics ever; it’s up to industry now to leverage off the back of that’.
“It took a lot of years to take that momentum up, and that's something we have to be very mindful of.
“This is the first of the next generation of Olympics, and we need to think what Brisbane’s legacy will be.”
While skills shortages are ‘incredibly concerning at the moment’, the Queensland Government is hopeful the cycle turns before venue and infrastructure construction commence.
“The escalation in price, the sector's understandable unwillingness to commit to price for any lengthy period of time, the shortage of skilled labor and the chaos that exists in global supply chains for many of the products required, are all grim circumstances now,” Mr Kaiser said.
“Fortunately, we're not about to begin any construction immediately. We're not only hoping that things will improve, we’re also putting the measures in place to improve it.
“If we were at the height of construction now, I think it's fair to say we'd be in some serious trouble, like anyone who is currently undertaking construction work.
“Fortunately, it's a little way off for us.”
Building a legacy with mindful capital expenditure is commendable, said AustralianSuper Head of Property Bevan Towning, in concluding the webinar.
The concept of linking precincts with pedestrian access or public transport is an exciting aspect of the legacy of Brisbane 2032.
“This is a real opportunity to make something of it,” Mr Towning said.
“Let’s make Brisbane a global city where capital comes directly to Brisbane. It’s important that Brisbane stands on its own and attracts industry, commerce and new technologies — and all the other things that go with it.”
Wendy Larter is Communications Manager at the Australian Industry Group. She has more than 20 years’ experience as a reporter, features writer, contributor and sub-editor for newspapers and magazines including The Courier-Mail in Brisbane and Metro, the News of the World, The Times and Elle in the UK.
