The Aussie Organising Committee for the Olympic Games has ignited a bout of interstate rivalry, after suggesting that the upcoming Games in Brisbane be promoted via the Sydney Opera House.
ICYMI, Brisvegas is set to host the sporting event in seven years time, but the city will have the hosting baton handed to it at the closing ceremony of the more imminent 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
In preparation for that ceremony, Andrew Liveris, President of the Brisbane Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, said he was planning to promote Australia’s host role by showing off the “key” iconography of the country, including the Opera House.
“You want Australia to be present so the iconography is key,” Liveris said, per Courier Mail.
“We’ll show off Australia and that might mean the Opera House.”
News flash: the Sydney Opera House is in Sydney (duh!), so the suggestion of promoting Brisbane through that landmark has been met with some pretty staunch criticism.
Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Craig Davidson said “there’s no way” the 2032 Brisbane Olympics should be promoted with anything besides Queensland’s own trademarks, touting Brisbane’s iconic river and “local attractions like Moreton Island and Stradbroke Island”.
“It would be a huge opportunity lost if we were showcasing anything other than Queensland,” Davidson said.
For her part, Committee for Brisbane CEO Jen Williams said it would be “incredibly disappointing” if organisers showcased interstate landmarks instead of homegrown ones, saying Brisbane is “the most ‘Australian’ of all our cities” and has “all of the things that encapsulate Australia”.
Meanwhile, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said he didn’t think it was “necessary” to promote Brisbane through the Opera House, since Sydney already “had its crack” with the Olympic Games back in 2000.
But it wasn’t only Brisbane figures who responded, with the move also drumming up some (mostly) friendly competition among social media users.
“Sydney pulling all the weight yet again,” one user (presumably from the Harbour City) wrote, with another agreeing that “Brisbane has nothing to show for”.
Clearly, that user isn’t across Bluey or Robert Irwin, two icons born in Queensland who’ve both reached international acclaim. If I don’t see Rob in the promo, preferably with a snake around him, I’ll riot.
On the opposing end, proud Brisbanites name-dropped some of the state’s iconic monuments, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Gold Coast, while others took a swipe at NSW as a state where “fun is completely banned”.
Ouch!
Despite all the hullabaloo, Liveris said the plan for announcing Brisbane at the conclusion of the LA Games is still in its early stages, with organisers set to recruit talent and creative teams for the promotional campaign over the next 12 months.
Perhaps the correct sentiment amid all the commentary is the one shared by a TikTok user who said that regardless of how it’s promoted, the Games “coming back to Australia is a win for us as a country”.
In that same spirit, can’t we all just get along?
Lead images: Getty Images and Sydney Opera House/Instagram
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