Brisbane 2032 releases ambitious 20-year Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Strategy

The Organising Committee of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games released this 10 November its Legacy Strategy, which is described in the plan as a “20-year journey to a healthier, more active and inclusive society”.

“This is our opportunity to work as one to ensure no one is left behind and equality and inclusion shine through before and beyond 2032”, said Andrew Liveris AO, president of the committee.

The strategy, branded as Elevate 2042, follows a year of community consultation with more than 14,000 ideas submitted through the Hopes and Dreams survey, Legacy Forum and Elevate 2042 consultation paper.

It is supported by the International Paralympic Committee, International Olympic Committee and Brisbane 2032 Presidents, and has the bold mission of making Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and the Oceania region better, sooner, together through sport, with opportunities accelerated by the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032.

The vision is that by 2042, society should be more inclusive, sustainable and connected, with more opportunities in life for everyone.

The Australian Premier and Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games,  Annastacia Palaszczuk, pointed out that “hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games has never been about a few weeks of spectacle, it is about making the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide lasting benefits for our communities”.

“We want 2032 to be the starting line – not the finish – for new investment, new industries, new opportunities, and a new golden era for Queensland”, she added.

Elevate 2042 creates the framework for that transformation, with a focus on four key areas that are already seeing legacy projects being planned, or coming to fruition.

Those four areas are: sport, health and inclusion; connecting people and places; a better future for the environment, and economy of the future. They will all be developed through two foundations: "Advancing accessibility and empowering people with disability" and "respecting, advancing and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples".

“We have never seen an organising committee develop a 20-year legacy plan before, and the extent of integration of disability inclusion in the strategy is truly unprecedented (...). On behalf of the Paralympic Movement, I want to congratulate Brisbane 2032 for the ambitious level of detail and the breadth of conversation provided by Elevate 2042”, said the President of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons.

“The Paralympic Games are transformational. They are a once-in-a-generation catalyst that will transform communities and leave important legacies across Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and Oceania. They will transform attitudes and create law change that will deliver long-term benefits to the 4.4 million Australians with a disability”, expressed Parsons.

The next step according to the Organising Committee will be map out the first Implementation Plan, to be developed during 2024 in conjunction with each individual geographical region in Australia, which will drive delivery of the early legacy activities up to 2029.

The Plan will identify the priority programs, projects, targets, partnerships, policy levers and funding sources that will be needed to make the legacy goals happen, with local communities and businesses helping prioritise the most important projects for their own areas.