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SALT LAKE CITY — Australia's next Olympics are now less than a decade away, but there doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for the 2032 Summer Games in Brisbane.
Nearly 60% of Queensland residents say they're not excited about their state's capital hosting the country's first Olympics since the 2000 Summer Games that were held in Sydney. Melbourne also hosted, in 1956.
The new online poll from YouGov, reported by Sky News, also shows a similar number of Queenslanders, 58%, are not confident the Brisbane Games will be on time and on budget. Just 6% said they're very confident that's going to happen.
The poll results follow news that the price tag for rebuilding Brisbane's Gabba cricket ground into the main stadium for the Games had ballooned from $1 billion to $2.7 billion in Australian dollars, an increase of more than $1.1 billion in U.S. dollars.
'Nation-building'
The Australian federal government and the Queensland state government announced in February that together they would spend a total of $7.1 billion in Australian dollars on Olympic venues, up from the $5 billion previously budgeted, according to a Reuters report.
"This is nation-building. This event is a great event for Queensland but it's great for Australia as well," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the announcement. The increased costs have been blamed on rising prices for construction materials.
It's been two years since Brisbane was named the International Olympic Committee's preferred pick to host in 2032, the first city selected under the new, less formal bidding process.
The naming of the Australian city to advance to contract negotiations surprised many, since under the old bid process, a final selection wasn't made until seven years ahead of a Games.
A dual award?
The decision to give Australia a third Summer Games, finalized in Tokyo just before the July 2021 start of the COVID-19 delayed 2020 Summer Games, came so early in the process that Brisbane faced no competition.
But Brisbane isn't the first city to have 11 years to get ready to host an Olympics. Los Angeles, which had been bidding against Paris to host in 2024, ended up with the 2028 Summer Games at the same time Paris was chosen for 2024.
Unlike Queensland, where only just over a third of those polled are stoked about the Olympics coming, nearly 60% of Los Angeles-area residents said they're excited about hosting a third Summer Games, according to a recent poll.
Another dual award could be coming, for the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games. Salt Lake City is bidding to host in either 2030 or 2034, but has stated a preference for waiting longer to avoid competing with the L.A. Games for sponsors.
The IOC has declined to name all of the contenders in the race for a future Winter Games, but the list is known to include Sapporo, Japan; Vancouver, Canada; and possibly cities in Sweden and Switzerland.
Utahns and now Swedes have made it clear in polls they want a Winter Games, while public support has continued to lag in Sapporo and Vancouver. Sapporo's bid, already paused, may end up being shifted from 2030 to 2034.
Earlier this year, a Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found 82% of Utahns approve of bringing another Winter Games to the state that hosted in 2002. More than half of those polled, 55%, strongly approve of hosting again.
Sweden's Olympic officials are still deciding whether to bid for the 2030 Winter Games, but released a new poll showing nearly 7 out of 10 Swedes support their efforts — as long as they keep costs under control and limit construction.
Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, has welcomed the Swedes' interest in 2030, saying the Nordic nation that's never held a Winter Games "could be a great 2030 host."
Bullock told the Deseret News that Utah's bid team is "hoping there is a strong, viable host for 2030, which would allow us to focus exclusively on our bid for 2034, our preferred choice."
