Brisbane 2032 now has a face. On 5 October the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee launched the emblems for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, built around two Queensland locals: the pink cockatoo and the sulphur-crested cockatoo.
Two birds, one state
The crest is shaped like Queensland, a reminder that these are Games for the whole state, not just the city. Its outline also reads as a torch, and the two and three feathers are a quiet nod to 2032. The colours take their cue from jacaranda, azalea and the sun, and the Paralympic emblem reverses the gradient with a yellow cockatoo.
Cockatoos also carry meaning in First Nations culture as messengers that link people to place, story and ceremony — a thread the organisers have built into the design. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner called the emblems “a celebration of our city, our lifestyle”, and Brisbane 2032’s Andrew Liveris described them as “an opportunity to promote the unique character of a Games”.
The launch had an unplanned head start, too. The explainer video went live a few days early, and as Brisbane 2032’s marketing team put it, the publicity that followed was hard to complain about.
The Dutch are already here
Six years out may sound early, but for the Dutch sports sector it is right on time. In September the Netherlands Trade Mission on Sports & Sustainable Cities visited Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, bringing 17 Dutch companies to Australia through the Orange Sports Forum, with RVO and the Consulate-General of the Netherlands in Sydney.
It was the second Dutch mission to Queensland, following a fact-finding visit two years earlier. At the Brisbane reception on 14 September at the Brisbane Powerhouse, Guido Tielman, Consul-General of the Netherlands in Sydney, and Tim Mander, Queensland’s Minister for Sport and Racing and Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, spoke to a room of Queensland and Dutch business people, alongside Peter Sprenger, head of the delegation. The mission’s focus was simple — sport, venues and liveable cities — and so were the conversations: who is building what, and where Dutch know-how fits in.
Next up: the Dutch Olympic Committee in Brisbane
On 12 November we welcome a visit from the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF), together with our fellow chambers, at Randstad, Level 19, 345 Queen Street in the city.
The evening looks at how the Games are being prepared, how athletes get ready for an Olympics, and what Brisbane 2032 can mean for Queensland’s economy in the long run. Dominique Lamb, Director of Community Affairs to the President at Brisbane 2032, is our first confirmed speaker, with more to be announced shortly.
Seats are limited and registration opens shortly. Keep an eye on your inbox, and if you are working on anything Games-related, come and tell us about it. The road to 2032 is long, and it is a good one to walk together.
