IOC President Thomas Bach and VP John Coates "have completely rejected a Victorian proposal that Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane make a combined bid for the 2028 or 2032 Olympics," according to Wayne Smith of THE AUSTRALIAN. The idea, put forward by former Victorian Sports Minister Justin Madden and supported by Melbourne major events impresario Ron Walker, did not make it out of the blocks, "with the two most powerful Olympic figures declaring it a non-starter." Coates said, "You could go to other venues for preliminary events for reasons of sustainability but, really, we want one Olympic Village for all 10,000 athletes and all 205 nations." The other factor immediately disqualifying Melbourne and Sydney "is that the IOC now wants all Summer Olympics staged no later than August, with Brisbane the only viable Australian candidate whose weather could sustain the Games at that time." Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson said that Bach initially was concerned that even a Brisbane regional bid "might be too far-flung and was relieved to hear that virtually every Games site would be within a 100km radius of the village at a still undetermined site in Brisbane" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 5/1).
BACH VISITS NEW ZEALAND: STUFF reported Bach "will visit New Zealand for two days next week." He "will visit Auckland on Tuesday and Cambridge on Wednesday." He "will gain insight into New Zealand's sporting system through a visit to a school and two high performance centres -- Rowing New Zealand's headquarters at Lake Karapiro and cycling's new setup in Cambridge." New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO & Secretary General Kereyn Smith said that among the priorities for discussion with Bach would be possible changes to the Olympic program, the future of the Youth Olympic Games, progress in Rio 2016 and strategies "to ensure the ongoing relevance of the Olympic Games to young New Zealanders" (STUFF, 4/30).
