Brisbane seals LA partnership and lands first 2032 Olympics sponsor
Brisbane has taken two steps towards the 2032 Olympic Games; While establishing an official partnership with 2028’s host city, Los Angeles, it also announced its first major corporate sponsor within minutes.
On Thursday morning (AEST) in California, Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed a sister city agreement connecting the two cities hosting the summer Olympic Games.
The mayors also signed a memorandum of understanding on Olympic cooperation, committing both cities to collaborate on the challenges and opportunities of hosting one of the world’s largest sporting events.
Minutes later, at the newly opened Glasshouse Theatre, the Brisbane 2032 organizing committee announced its first major sponsor; Commonwealth Bank was the first to sign a “major” but secret deal.
Schrinner said the fact that both cities hosted the Olympics meant there was no better partner for Brisbane than Los Angeles.
“Like us, Los Angeles is using the Games to create a better city for its residents, investing in infrastructure and projects that will leave a positive legacy,” he said.
“We want our Games to be great, but more importantly, we want the legacy we leave to our city to be even greater. Learning from other Olympic cities like Los Angeles is absolutely critical.”
Bass said Los Angeles and Brisbane have set a standard for how Olympic host cities can collaborate and innovate.
“This partnership with Brisbane strengthens our global relationships and ensures that the Games leave a lasting legacy on our communities,” he said.
Back in Queensland about 20 minutes later, Brisbane 2032 president Andrew Liveris announced that the Commonwealth Bank had come on board as co-founder of the organizing committee.
Liveris said the International Olympic Committee had given him special permission to go to market early to sponsor Brisbane 2032.
“The size of the market is an issue – we need to look at the size of the market – but we have some very large companies right on our doorstep in this country,” Liveris said, standing next to Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn.
“I think this announcement today is going to prompt a lot of other companies to say, ‘You know what, let’s get into this six-year thing as quickly as we can.'”
However, the extent of sponsorship remained tightly guarded.
“It’s a pretty big investment by anyone’s definition,” Comyn said.
“We do this without hesitation; we see the importance of being associated with such an event, but we also think there are commercial opportunities.”
Where the money would go was as guarded as the amount itself, but Comyn said he expected at least some of it to flow into grassroots sport.
“You can imagine there are a lot of people in schools – not just in Brisbane or Queensland, but all over the country – who are probably dreaming of an Olympics and home Olympics,” he said.
Olympic legend Ian Thorpe, who won three golds and two silvers at Sydney 2000, said there had been an increase in sports funding ahead of the Games and the results reflected that.
“You have to have athletes that inspire you so you can see it, so you can believe in it and have the path to go out and achieve success,” he said.
“That’s why Australia has been as successful as we have been at the Olympic Games level, because there are many generations of athletes who have inspired the next generation, and they have been inspired by those who came before them.”
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