The Prague Post - Australia primed for 'unparalleled' decade of major sporting events

EUR -
AED 4.327349
AFN 83.648702
ALL 97.992509
AMD 453.964331
ANG 2.10844
AOA 1080.361606
ARS 1438.578501
AUD 1.79186
AWG 2.120666
AZN 2.000366
BAM 1.951118
BBD 2.379191
BDT 144.612991
BGN 1.958152
BHD 0.444162
BIF 3464.933127
BMD 1.178148
BND 1.497307
BOB 8.141945
BRL 6.439405
BSD 1.178372
BTN 100.72231
BWP 15.586137
BYN 3.856247
BYR 23091.69986
BZD 2.36677
CAD 1.608089
CDF 3390.074499
CHF 0.933682
CLF 0.028501
CLP 1093.73345
CNY 8.441724
CNH 8.437713
COP 4747.865558
CRC 594.772801
CUC 1.178148
CUP 31.220921
CVE 110.80498
CZK 24.685704
DJF 209.38064
DKK 7.461753
DOP 69.922992
DZD 152.326806
EGP 58.269905
ERN 17.672219
ETB 159.46198
FJD 2.632218
FKP 0.858629
GBP 0.857815
GEL 3.204535
GGP 0.858629
GHS 12.193706
GIP 0.858629
GMD 84.233194
GNF 10196.870185
GTQ 9.061257
GYD 246.421374
HKD 9.248403
HNL 30.871223
HRK 7.533907
HTG 154.539173
HUF 399.28026
IDR 19111.916078
ILS 3.985852
IMP 0.858629
INR 100.872442
IQD 1543.373817
IRR 49629.482794
ISK 142.603371
JEP 0.858629
JMD 189.255867
JOD 0.83529
JPY 169.249786
KES 152.565676
KGS 103.029595
KHR 4736.154516
KMF 493.644463
KPW 1060.431945
KRW 1598.876653
KWD 0.359536
KYD 0.981915
KZT 611.72213
LAK 25389.088251
LBP 105562.056017
LKR 353.57158
LRD 236.222384
LSL 20.848685
LTL 3.478764
LVL 0.71265
LYD 6.356109
MAD 10.582715
MDL 19.783939
MGA 5219.195316
MKD 61.519671
MMK 2473.197939
MNT 4222.627315
MOP 9.527455
MRU 46.831616
MUR 53.099902
MVR 18.141978
MWK 2045.893775
MXN 22.111009
MYR 4.945271
MZN 75.3547
NAD 20.865773
NGN 1808.126948
NIO 43.296875
NOK 11.877723
NPR 161.155297
NZD 1.934318
OMR 0.452981
PAB 1.178298
PEN 4.173592
PGK 4.864602
PHP 66.337973
PKR 334.299515
PLN 4.250679
PYG 9399.445377
QAR 4.28917
RON 5.070773
RSD 117.139711
RUB 92.488922
RWF 1689.464163
SAR 4.418374
SBD 9.82213
SCR 17.259451
SDG 707.477617
SEK 11.187074
SGD 1.500177
SHP 0.925839
SLE 26.449369
SLL 24705.177798
SOS 673.313866
SRD 43.897203
STD 24385.283936
SVC 10.31026
SYP 15318.23633
SZL 20.844291
THB 38.254145
TJS 11.635734
TMT 4.135299
TND 3.401903
TOP 2.759345
TRY 46.922104
TTD 7.974898
TWD 34.522095
TZS 3095.114843
UAH 49.307982
UGX 4235.835817
USD 1.178148
UYU 47.077035
UZS 14959.104588
VES 127.30344
VND 30785.005987
VUV 140.822024
WST 3.232242
XAF 654.345198
XAG 0.032589
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.184004
XDR 0.820209
XOF 657.99454
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.406444
ZAR 20.760086
ZMK 10604.744772
ZMW 28.130708
ZWL 379.36316
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Australia primed for 'unparalleled' decade of major sporting events
Australia primed for 'unparalleled' decade of major sporting events / Photo: WILLIAM WEST - AFP

Australia primed for 'unparalleled' decade of major sporting events

Australia will over the next decade host a bumper schedule of major international sporting events as part of a long-term plan to boost tourism, health and the economy while also enhancing its global image.

Text size:

The country's welcoming climate, sports-loving people, stable political environment and quality infrastructure have long made it an attractive destination.

But the sheer volume of big sporting events heading to Australia is unprecedented for the nation of 26 million people.

Australian Olympic Committee chief Matt Carroll calls it the green and gold -- the nation's sporting colours -- "runway" culminating in the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.

"More than 30 major global sporting events are coming to Australia across the next 10 years," he said.

In addition to the annual Australian Open tennis and Formula One, the country will host cricket's men's Twenty20 World Cup, Women's Basketball World Cup and the UCI road cycling world championships this year.

It will then jointly hold football's Women's World Cup with New Zealand in 2023, a British and Irish Lions rugby tour in 2025, Commonwealth Games in 2026, Netball World Cup in 2027 and Presidents Cup golf a year later.

An expected announcement next month that it will also stage back-to-back men's and women's Rugby World Cups in 2027 and 2029 will further cement Australia's status as a sporting powerhouse.

"Sport brings health, educational and wellbeing benefits to the community and can play a pivotal role in getting Australians active, reducing obesity and other health-related problems including mental illness," said Carroll.

- 'Feel-good factors' -

Bidding for big events is part of Sport 2030, a government roadmap established in 2018 that recognises the broader economic and social implications of sport, which is already deeply embedded in Australia's culture and identity.

But hosting a huge competition such as the Olympics comes with a financial price tag.

"The return on investment is a complex issue," Popi Sotiriadou, an associate professor of sport management at Queensland's Griffith University, told AFP.

"There are things that we can't measure -- you can't put a money value on national pride. There are so many of what we call 'public goods' that do not necessarily translate to dollars.

"There are legacies in terms of feel-good factors, people feel that connectedness with each other.

"And with any big sporting events we have that trickle-down effect, that inspirational effect of elite athletes' success, the promotion of community, the boost to tourism, we have trade benefits, employment benefits, infrastructure benefits, better public facilities."

Sports Minister Richard Colbeck called the coming blitz of events "unparalleled in our history" as Australia seeks to "grow our reputation as the pre-eminent sporting host nation in the world".

According to government data, 14 million Australians participate in sport every year, millions attend live games and the sector generates about three percent of gross domestic product.

It is big business, delivering Aus$83 billion (US$61 billion) of combined economic, health and educational benefits annually, with a return on investment of Aus$7 for every dollar spent, Sport 2030 says.

- Experienced host -

Australia has long been praised for its ability to host big-ticket showpieces, stemming from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, which were widely seen as setting a benchmark.

Then-International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch famously declared them "the best ever" -- and not only from an operations perspective but everything from venue design and construction to management and marketing.

More than 20 years later, those skills have been honed even further.

Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos, who is involved in the Rugby World Cup bid, said it made a big difference having strong government and public support.

"That's one of the benefits of operating in a country like Australia," he told SportsPro magazine. "Because there's such familiarity with having to host and engage on major events.

"The states and certainly the federal government are quite well versed in it so they understand that once you put a very compelling economic impact assessment in front of them, the decision-making process is relatively straightforward."

S.Danek--TPP