Premier Crisafulli has just announced the major venues for the 2032 Olympic Games.

This is a long overdue appraisal of the construction of major venues. The proposed rebuild of the Gabba stadium has been abandoned and a new main Athletics stadium is proposed for the northeast corner of Victoria Park – an ambitious build.

A protest group has prepared to challenge this decision. The benefit of the new stadium will be that some of the athletes would be housed in new accommodation on the Exhibition grounds, with a 20,000-seat venue prepared on the Exhibition grounds. The Exhibition Grounds and Athletes Stadium are to be connected by a plaza and pedestrian paths. The Victoria Park venue is some distance from suburban housing, though close to the Brisbane Hospital. The stadium is to include building a plaza and break out area over the freeway.

I think this was the best proposal put forward for the main Olympic Stadium. Athletes may catch an electric minibus from the village to the stadium. An upgraded rail station may provide excellent connectivity to venue attendees. The Royal Brisbane Hospital already is designed to cope with the exhibition noise and the venue is some distance from housing. Queenslanders need to get behind this proposal. Any further delay could be calamitous to the Olympic preparations.

A monumental effort needed

Many events have been spread through the regions with rowing proposed for Rockhampton and events on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Major transport upgrades to the Bruce highway are also intended.

Queensland needs to shift its psyche to the monumental construction task ahead to prepare these venues and commission them in time for the Olympics. Thousands of tonnes of steel, concrete, aluminium and glass will be required. Will this place additional pressure on a moribund construction sector? It is estimated that the CFMEU on large NSW infrastructure projects has increased costs and led to delays and budget over runs. Crisafulli and his cabinet should consider additional legislation to ensure industrial relations harmony during the build. That may include a legal and contractual agreement that any successful bidder have an agreed framework for increases in wages covering from now till 12 months after the games. Steel and aluminium, materials supplied to games venues, must be to the largest extent possible AUSTRALIAN MADE! Only Australian contractors should be considered for the Games venues. In the age of Trump that should be a no brainer!

Security critical

Security during construction, the event and the immediate aftermath is imperative. This too should include new legislation. Protests, for instance, should be required to be undertaken outside the games venue footprint. And during the games, Queensland should have a moratorium or all-encompassing ban on protests and actions which could disrupt the games.

We will need a Queensland drone surveillance division with a ban on flying a drone near a venue from now until 12 months after the games. Queensland will need special tactical squads of police, marine rescue and response to hold a successful games. This should include the use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition for security at all venues. This may include surveillance and check points around venues and on vehicles coming into Queensland.

Major upgrades to airport security should also be undertaken. I would recommend a carpet ban on strikes and industrial action at Olympic venues- any dispute must be resolved through arbitration. Areas in Olympic venue zones should be made protest free for the duration from now until 12 months after the Games. A long weekend could be designated for protest actions, though outside this window all street protest should be illegal.

The Queensland cuisine and street food is incredible, with every taste catered for, Asian, Mexican, European, South American food which is an exemplar of the multicultural Australia.

Our venues are a mark of pride and a statement of what it means to be Australian, what it means to be a Queenslander. We are proud of the Games and our preparations are far reaching and we are organised.

For Queensland to be able to build these venues to a reasonable cost and an agreed timeframe, some democratic and citizen rights must be suspended. A proposal for infrastructure on the scale of an Olympics attracts industrial action and protests like flies to a feral pig’s hide!

Upgrades to all tourism infrastructure (don’t forget toilets, service stations and information)

Queensland does not have the quality and quantity of tourism infrastructure for the profile of an Olympics. Much of our beachside infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged during recent cyclone and flooding events. We need new legislation to ensure all vehicle service station, fast food outlets, restaurants, tourism venues upgrade toilet and rest room facilities. This should have been done some time ago. Tourists visiting the Games are likely to visit many of our major attractions. Frankly, many of our facilities need major upgrades. We need an upgrade to inspections and monitoring of rest room and toilet facilities. We need some major uplift in the provision of rest rooms and toilet facilities. Queensland facilities for tourists are frankly disgusting, unhygienic and poorly serviced. Even toilet facilities at airports are disgusting for much of the time. We need a toilet and rest room hygiene Tzar and new requirements for all Queensland councils. Some councils provide very good facilities. Standouts are Noosa and the Sunshine Coast and, before the cyclone, Gold Coast – though the number of facilities needs to be doubled to cater for an Olympic influx.

Many service stations lock their facilities and do not repair air pressure pumps for tyres. We need large fines for non-compliance with service and hygiene standards. We need a number to call the Facilities Tzar where a quick response team will intervene at any hour. Our nightlife precincts also need major upgrades to facilities and servicing.

Queensland need to identify restroom and toilet facility upgrades which should be undertaken considering the huge influx of tourists we may anticipate. If you travel in a country where toilet and rest room facilities are scarce or non-existent, where facilities are unhygienic………..this makes a lasting impression. You won’t go back if these facilities are poor and the hygiene levels are disgusting.

Queensland needs to design, create and prepare information kiosks across the state, where tourists can get detailed information in their language. They should be able to request directions and get information if they have an issue, need to see a doctor or require any other service. They need to be able to get a printout of the information in any of the 130 or so languages of participants for the Olympics. The kiosks should be available at every major tourism venue, including national parks. Rangers and police need to be allocated universal translation apps or equipment so they may easily communicate with any visitor.

National parks need major upgrades to toilets, rest rooms and BBQ facilities. We will need to plan these upgrades now, as it takes several years to procure these.

(Many visitors during the Games will also visit Queensland’s other tourist attractions. It is important that facilities such as toilets, barbeques and information kiosks (with information in different languages) are adequate and in good working order. Image: view of Main Beach from Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island. Image by S. Newrick via Wikipedia. Republished under Creative Commons license)

Definition of a successful games – a truly great visitor experience

The following would be an ideal statement of a truly successful games.

“I am a tourist coming to a major venue for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, I cannot communicate in English. I have received a video on an app, which explains the venues and ticketing process, security and other relevant information months before I arrive in Queensland or Australia. There is a help line where I may ask questions about any relevant issue and get help 24/7. I am greeted on arrival by friendly locals that mostly can speak my language or communicate, they are helpful and celebratory.

Before my Olympics experience, I travel to a few national parks in Queensland and NSW, I travel on trains and buses where the timetable is understood and the service is on time. I go to the Gold Coast, Noosa and Toowoomba, Ipswich. I go to a music festival in the week before th Olympics begins. If I have an issue, there are police and Olympics venue champions there to help. My luggage and possessions can have an ID code so I may easily retrieve these if they are misplaced. There are artificial intelligence surveillance and face recognition, though these are no overt. Bars are open 24/7 with free taxi ride or bus ride home all evening. The food id exquisite, large steaks and seafood and vegetarian if that is what you desire.”

Brisbane Queensland are the most organised, laid back and friendly host city the visitors have experienced. They are really pleased with their experience and so they should they having saved up for five years to see the athletics and go to an Olympics. They will return home and ensure everyone knows that Brisbane put on a Games of resounding celebration and success, and the small things from the organisers made their experience exceptional. They visited central Queensland national parks and the Barrier Reef islands, went to Cairns and the Tablelands. Some went for an outback experience. The security while not invasive was comprehensive, and any security threat was quickly understood and dealt with. The visitors felt safe and welcome.

The visitor only experienced clean, modern and hygienic rest rooms and toilets through out Queensland. This is a place they will visit again and tell friends and family about!

Act now

What does Queensland need to do to fulfil the promise of the Olympic Games and get with the program? What preparations apart from venues will make tourism and visitation a memorable and happy experience? What legislation should be enacted now to ensure the Games are on time, to budget and of international standard for the Olympics?

Queenslanders must quickly get past the ‘not in my backyard’ phase of these major venues, prepare these venues to be safe, secure and modern. We need to begin to get excited about the opportunity to champion Australia and our state before the eyes of the world. The athletes are preparing now for their Olympic dream in 2032, and we need to put on an Olympics worthy of the movement and worthy of our aspirations.

We need to get motivated and get excited as there is some serious preparations and work to ensure we are ready, our venues have been commissioned and our athletes given the stage worthy of the occasions. There will be triumph and victory, controversy and disappointment……………the true drama of the Games. At the end of the Games Australians, Queenslanders should understand they have put on a world class sporting event and showcased our region to the world. We can rejuvenate tourism for Australia, but we have some major upgrades to ensure our facilities are world class and reflect well on the organisers and our great city of Meanjin / Brisbane.