Australia’s 2032 Olympics will go for zinc

Softball - Women - Opening Round - United States v Canada
Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Softball - Women - Opening Round - United States v Canada - Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium - Fukushima, Japan - July 22, 2021. Kelsey Harshman of Canada and Haylie McCleney of the United States in action.

MELBOURNE, July 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Faster, higher, stronger, cheaper. That will be the modified Olympic motto in Brisbane, which was just named host read more of the 2032 summer Games. In an early test for the reimagined “New Norm” approach to the embattled international athletic competition read more , the Australian city and its Queensland surrounds are targeting a A$4.5 billion ($3.3 billion) operating budget that is to be fully funded privately. The shambolic, pandemic-delayed Tokyo event due to start officially on Friday is set to cost more than $15 billion.

The Brisbane estimate excludes infrastructure expenses, but those are also supposed to be contained by relying more heavily on existing facilities and using arenas for multiple sports. Of course, costs for such extravagant events have a funny way of creeping up. Paris 2024 estimates have been rising and Japan’s have doubled since it won the bidding. One recent study found that significant cost overruns stubbornly persist. This is one Olympic competition where gold should not be the goal. (By Jeffrey Goldfarb)

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Editing by Antony Currie and Sharon Lam

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