- Title: Australian delegation arrives in Tokyo ahead of host city vote
- Date: 19th July 2021
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 19, 2021) (REUTERS) OLYMPIC VOLUNTEERS IN ARRIVALS AREA/ QUEENSLAND PREMIER ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK IS GREETED PALASZCZUK LORD MAYOR OF BRISBANE, ADRIAN, SCHRINNER, ARRIVING PALASZCZUK AND SCHRINNER WALKING TOWARDS JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) QUEENSLAND PREMIER, ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK, SAYING: "This is, you know, a couple of days to go, it's the countdown now and fingers crossed we'll be successful. So, the Lord Mayor's with me as well so it's a great team effort, isn't it Adrian?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) LORD MAYOR OF BRISBANE, ADRIAN, SCHRINNER, SAYING: "It sure is. We came over on a plane full of athletes and they are all here to compete and do Australia proud. We're here to compete in a different way, to make sure that Brisbane, Queensland gets the Games in 2032 and we're not taking anything for granted. We are here to work, we're here to get the job done and we're here to bring it home." (SOUNDBITE) (English) QUEENSLAND PREMIER, ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK, SAYING: "That's right." (SOUNDBITE) (English) QUEENSLAND PREMIER, ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK, SAYING: "I have a great deputy back there as well, Stephen Miles, a fantastic chief health officer and we'll be monitoring it every single day but I'm not going to allow Brisbane and Queensland to miss out on this opportunity, I'm not going to let anyone stand in the way of Queensland's time to shine on the world stage." REPORTER, ASKING: "Premier. What kind of meetings do you have lined up?" "We have some trade meetings as well which we'll be really good. So, some interesting opportunities in hydrogen but also too, we've got meetings with the IOC (International Olympic Committee), with different delegations as well so fingers crossed everything is going to go well. It's going to be tough, it's, you know a lot's going to hinge on that hour, on our presentation so we've got to prepare and we're going to throw everything at it." REPORTER, ASKING: "And how concerned are you about the evolving situation here with the cases in the athletes' village and the general community?" "Look, I'm quite sure that the IOC and the Japanese government are sorting that out. I'll leave that to them but we're here to do our job and that's exactly what the Lord Mayor and I are focused on so fingers crossed. Go Queensland." (SOUNDBITE) (English) QUEENSLAND PREMIER, ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK, SAYING: "You know, Australia is facing this pandemic just as the rest of the world and we want a time in the future when we can open our arms and welcome warmly people from all around the world but at the moment our job is to get and secure those Olympics and that will open up a decade worth of opportunities so..." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) QUEENSLAND PREMIER, ANNASTACIA PALASZCZUK, SAYING: REPORTER, ASKING: What is your message to any Australians who today might be saying that it's unfair or they feel that you may be taking a position in hotel quarantine..." "I'm not taking any position because anyone in the Tokyo Olympics is above the cap so there is no issue there." REPORTER, ASKING: "OK. So, this is extra numbers on top of the cap?" "Correct. It is. And I'm here on the national interest and (Australian) Border Force approved our travel in the national interest and the federal minister is here with us as well so you might run into him very shortly as well. Thanks everyone. Have a great day. Fingers crossed." / PALASZCZUK WALKING AWAY AUSTRALIAN SPORTS MINISTER, RICHARD COLBECK WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN SPORTS MINISTER, RICHARD COLBECK, SAYING: "I'm very excited to be here. It's a very good week for Australia, for Brisbane and Queensland and I'm looking forward to playing my part in hopefully successfully bringing home the 2032 Games." REPORTER, ASKING: "Minister. How concerned are you about the evolving situation on the ground here and the fact that our athletes have arrived to an infected village?" "Well, I think that we all understood that there was always a risk that COVID would be in the village and so significant precautions have been taken by the IOC and the JOC to safeguard the athletes. They'll understand that. We've been living with COVID at home it's going to be a difficult situation here just as it is at home at the moment and I extend my enormous gratitude to the Japanese people for having us here. This is a huge event for the world and give a lot of people a lot of joy and we ought to thank the Japanese people for having us here." REPORTER, ASKING: "Just how important is it to lock in this bid to bring the Olympics to Brisbane in 2032?" "Well, it's a huge thing for Australia. It's the biggest sporting event on the planet and if you think of the 8-9-10-year-olds who are sitting at home today, aspiring to be an Olympian, the opportunity for them to compete on home soil in just over a decade is enormous. It's a huge opportunity. We saw in 2000 when (sprinter) Cathy Freeman and so many others performed so brilliantly so the opportunity to bring the Games back to Australia for a third time - we're the only nation who's... we're one of only two nations that has competed at every Summer Games so we have a huge history with this event. It's an enormous event for Australia and I'm really looking forward to playing my part in the bidding process to bring the games home." REPORTER, ASKING: "Is this a meeting that you yourself and the premier could have done over zoom?" "Well, that's not what the IOC told us. They're allocating to us, the biggest sporting event on the planet. I think that their request that Australia is personally represented here to present to the IOC is a fair request and I think that it's reasonable that we make the effort to come." (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN SPORTS MINISTER, RICHARD COLBECK, SAYING: "Well, look, I think the athletes have been through an enormous amount over the last 12 months with the Games having been postponed. They've done a lot in preparation, they've performed magnificently. They understand, I think, the precautions that they need to take. It's no different than the things that the Australian government has been saying to the Australian people over the course of the pandemic. Look after your own personal hygiene, hand etiquette, keep you know wash your hands, maintain a safe distance from people all of those disciplines need to be maintained and they'll have a great time here, huge opportunity, fantastic expectations from the Australian community and we really look forward to Australian athletes performing well. We've been in a very fortunate situation over the last twelve months, we've had the opportunity to move relatively freely within the country so I think enormous opportunity. And I know Australians are looking forward to seeing our athletes performing on the international stage. It will bring a lot of joy to a lot of people. We'll find some new heroes, we'll meet some new people who we hadn't known before and we're all looking forward to it. The world's looking forward to it. As I said, this event will bring a lot of joy to a lot of people to around the world and we all thank the Japanese people for having us here." /COLBECK WALKING AWAY ARRIVALS HALL ARRIVALS BOARD, LISTING PLANE FROM SYDNEY VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF AIRPORT'S TERMINAL 3
- Embargoed: 2nd August 2021 02:12
- Keywords: Brisbane IOC July 21 vote Olympics Queensland host city sport
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Olympics,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001EMI9XL3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The Australian delegation arrived in Tokyo early on Monday (July 19) morning ahead of Wednesday's (July 21) International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote on which city will host the 2032 Olympics.
The Australian city of Brisbane is the frontrunner and has the approval of the IOC's executive board. The choice will be put to a final vote on Wednesday (July 21).
The delegation was headed by the Australian sports minister Richard Colbeck and also included Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Lord Mayor of Brisbane Adrian Schrinner.
"It's the countdown now and fingers crossed we'll be successful," Palaszczuk said.
If Brisbane is elected, as expected, it would become the third Australian city after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000 to host the summer Olympics.
Several cities and countries had publicly expressed an interest in staging the 2032 Games including Indonesia, Budapest, China, Doha and Germany's Ruhr valley.
But in a new process that does not openly pit cities against each other, Brisbane had already moved ahead of any rivals in February, having won praise from the IOC.
(Production: Akira Tomoshige, Tim Hart, Ilze Filks) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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