Is the race for the 2032 Summer Games already over? John Coates (photo above), the vice-president of the IOC, believes it is and makes no secret of it. Last weekend, during the annual general assembly of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), he explained that Brisbane and Queensland are reaching their goal, and are now very close to victory. “For Brisbane and Queensland, the final bell has rung,” suggested John Coates during his presidential address. We only have to jump the final hurdles before we can cut the ribbon.” It is indeed difficult to imagine any other scenario than an Australian victory since the IOC’s decision, announced in February, to keep Brisbane only in the last phase of the future host city’s selection process. Since then, Queensland and Australian authorities have provided the last missing documentation to the folder: the financial guarantees. One question remains: the date of the final IOC vote. John Coates did not give an answer yet, but everything leads us to believe that the victory of Brisbane 2032 could be sealed during the next IOC session, scheduled to take place in Tokyo on July 20th, 2021.
