Trendy. The mascot for the 2032 Brisbane Summer Games will be chosen by the public. The announcement was made this week by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. The decision will not be known for a while, but the subject is already the subject of much discussion in Australia. Two potential candidates have emerged among the animals or characters that could embody the Summer Games: the koala and the ibis. But the former was already the mascot of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. But Cameron Costello, a member of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, believes the Brisbane 2032 Games could be a unique opportunity for Australia to “bring endangered species, including the koala, back to where they belong“. The choice of an ibis was suggested in the Australian media by Queensland’s tourism minister, Sterling Hinchcliffe. The only problem is that the animal is often given the unflattering nickname of “rubbish chicken” for its habit of foraging for food in the rubbish. Annastacia Palaszczuk was quoted by ABC as saying: “I’m sure there will be a big public debate, but I don’t know if the ibis will be number one.” At the Sydney 2000 Games, the organisers broke new ground by choosing three official mascots: a platypus named Syd, a kookaburra called Olly, and an anteater called Millie (pictured above).
