Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Olympics yesterday, triggering celebratory fireworks as it became the third Australian city to host the Summer Games after Melbourne and Sydney.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach confirmed the widely expected result after a vote at the IOC session in Tokyo.
“The International Olympic Committee has the honour to announce that the Games of the 35th Olympiad are awarded to Brisbane, Australia,” Bach said.
The announcement was greeted by cheers from the Brisbane delegates in Tokyo, while fireworks lit up the skies above the Australian city thousands of miles (kilometres) away. Brisbane’s victory looked a certainty after it was unanimously proposed as the single candidate for 2032 by the IOC’s 15-strong executive board in June.
“It’s a historic day not just for Brisbane and Queensland, but for the entire country,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“Only global cities can secure the Olympic Games, so this is fitting recognition for Brisbane’s standing across our region and the world.”
Australia has already hosted the Olympics twice, in Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000, widely considered one of the most successful Games in recent history.
