To IOC: Return to Open Bidding!!

[baron-pierreIV]

OK, the Games are on, so sites like this one gets kinda exciting.  But once the flame is extinguished, and the BORING Brisbane 2032 award is now history, it will return to a BORING status here.  To the IOC:  you need to return to open bidding!!  You have to encourage multiple bids!!  FUGGEDABOUT about cost-saving.  I mean it's only MONEY!! People like Bezos and Buffett make oodles of them a day!  Let start-up Organizing Committees start Go-Fund-Me pages!! 

The world and bidding groupies need those multi-volume bid books!!  Architects have to churn out their billion-dollar stadia. arenas and venues so we will have something to ooh and aah and discuss here!!  We need those renderings!!

Bach is a disciple of Frump!!  He has fooled you, the rank-and-file IOC members, that the so-called "discussion-stage" process of selecting host cities is working!!  It is FAKE and a sham!!  Look at what it produces -- the Tier C, backwater city of Brisbane.  The likes of Madrid, Istanbul, Doha, Baku need to bid in EVERY CYCLE!!  As a democratic institution, you MUST ALLOW your members to put up cities in their FULLEST, glossiest catalogue GLORY!!  We need those keychains, "Candidate City" gewgaws -- and MOS TIMPORTANT OF ALL, the 

PINS!!  What sort of a world is it without the Baku 2036, Doha 2040 or Delhi 2044 pins and pencils??   A poorer, MORE BORING one for sure!!  

Bring back open City-Bidding!! 

[FYI]

8 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said:

OK, the Games are on, so sites like this one gets kinda exciting.  But once the flame is extinguished, and the BORING Brisbane 2032 award is now history, it will return to a BORING status here.  

 

8 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said:

Bach is a disciple of Frump!!  He has fooled you, the rank-and-file IOC members, that the so-called "discussion-stage" process of selecting host cities is working!!  It is FAKE and a sham!!  Look at what it produces -- the Tier C, backwater city of Brisbane.  

Lmfao 

[Australian Kiwi]

It'll come back in one form or another once interest picks up again. We are in a 1970s kind of lull. Which is why I'm somewhat perplexed that the IOC jumped at shadows so quickly to award 2032 so early. Imagine if the IOC awarded 1992 in 1981 when interest in the Olympics was still very poor? While Brisbane excites me as an Aussie I'm wondering whether they should have waited longer?

[FYI]

13 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

Which is why I'm somewhat perplexed that the IOC jumped at shadows so quickly to award 2032 so early. 

I've been saying that all along. Why the rush. Especially in the middle of a raging pandemic? But the counter-argument by boosters was "but the pandemic is precisely the reason to put 2032 in another 'safe pair of hands' in Australia". Which seems almost like an oxymoron that far ahead. Certainly the IOC was already too preoccupied with Tokyo 2020ne to be worrying about awarding other Olympic Games, especially another 11 years out. And waiting another year or two would've given other potential worthy candidates more time to get their act together. Again there, I'm sure an Olympic bid was not on their priority list when Coronavirus was/in full swing.

13 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

While Brisbane excites me as an Aussie I'm wondering whether they should have waited longer?

Considering the next 'new frontier' is being mentioned elsewhere on the boards right now, as an Aussie, I'm sure Brisbane excites you. But it excites me as much as I'm sure another American/L.A. Olympics excites you or any other Aussie, or other national in general, for that matter. Should Brisbane have waited longer? More than likely. But most of us here (who aren't wearing blinders anyway), know precisely how this went down. And if we're going to talk about the "new norm" & the "reforms" & what not, the only Aussie city that made absolute sense in that regard was Melbourne. But of course, that pesky IOC preferred time-window for the Summer Olympics got in the way. That, & of course a certain IOC VP (no matter how some like to continually deny it otherwise).

[Australian Kiwi]

18 minutes ago, FYI said:

I've been saying that all along. Why the rush. Especially in the middle of a raging pandemic? But the counter-argument by boosters was "but the pandemic is precisely the reason to put 2032 in another 'safe pair of hands' in Australia". Which seems almost like an oxymoron that far ahead. Certainly the IOC was already too preoccupied with Tokyo 2020ne to be worrying about awarding other Olympic Games, especially another 11 years out. And waiting another year or two would've given other potential worthy candidates more time to get their act together. Again there, I'm sure an Olympic bid was not on their priority list when Coronavirus was/in full swing.

Considering the next 'new frontier' is being mentioned elsewhere on the boards right now, as an Aussie, I'm sure Brisbane excites you. But it excites me as much as I'm sure another American/L.A. Olympics excites you or any other Aussie, or other national in general, for that matter. Should Brisbane have waited longer? More than likely. But most of us here (who aren't wearing blinders anyway), know precisely how this went down. And if we're going to talk about the "new norm" & the "reforms" & what not, the only Aussie city that made absolute sense in that regard was Melbourne. But of course, that pesky IOC preferred time-window for the Summer Olympics got in the way. That, & of course a certain IOC VP (no matter how some like to continually deny it otherwise).

Coates is known to dislike Melbourne. Australia's states were borne out of separate colonies and parochialism runs very, very deep. A domestic bidding race was completely stonewalled to ensure Brisbane's path forward.

I'm a Victorian, and I think Melbourne would have given the world an iconic second hosting building upon an LA/London-esque legacy. I do not believe that the Brisbane bid would have stood up to a Melbourne bid (or Sydney) on paper.  However reality is that the ability to offer a July Olympics made Brisbane the favourite. Sydney would be another September Olympics and Melbourne October at earliest. Its the same reason that we will probably see Durban host Africa's first Olympics over Cape Town or Johannesburg. 

However I do need to stress that I still think Brisbane is a great choice and will put on an incredible Games in 2032. It is no backwater city as others suggested previously in this thread - just a lesser known city like Barcelona, Atlanta or even Melbourne was in the 1950s. Give it a chance.

[Australian Kiwi]

30 minutes ago, FYI said:

I've been saying that all along. Why the rush. Especially in the middle of a raging pandemic? But the counter-argument by boosters was "but the pandemic is precisely the reason to put 2032 in another 'safe pair of hands' in Australia". Which seems almost like an oxymoron that far ahead. Certainly the IOC was already too preoccupied with Tokyo 2020ne to be worrying about awarding other Olympic Games, especially another 11 years out. And waiting another year or two would've given other potential worthy candidates more time to get their act together. Again there, I'm sure an Olympic bid was not on their priority list when Coronavirus was/in full swing.

 

I was following this but too busy to engage in anything on here. 

Frankly found it odd that the IOC didn't hold off until AFTER Tokyo had hosted 2021. Otherwise wouldn't it have made sense to offer Tokyo first choice at 2032 should 2020 have actually been cancelled? 

It felt like the rush was Coates knowing that this was a potential scenario when COVID hit and was desperate to avoid Brisbane getting the boot to make way for Tokyo 2032. 

[FYI]

50 minutes ago, Australian Kiwi said:

However reality is that the ability to offer a July Olympics made Brisbane the favourite. Its the same reason that we will probably see Durban host Africa's first Olympics over Cape Town or Johannesburg. 

Yes, of course. But that seems like the only key ingredient that Brisbane has over Melbourne. Unlike in South Africa's case, where Durban has more than just the July/Aug weather going for it over Cape Town. But also the main Olympic Stadium & many of the venues. I've always championed Durban over Cape Town on these boards before for those very reasons. And if one thing that Brisbane does in that aspect, is it gives Durban that much more hope in the future & makes their case, when hopefully the Olympics finally make their way to (South) Africa.

50 minutes ago, Australian Kiwi said:

However I do need to stress that I still think Brisbane is a great choice and will put on an incredible Games in 2032. It is no backwater city as others suggested previously in this thread - just a lesser known city like Barcelona, Atlanta or even Melbourne was in the 1950s. Give it a chance.

Not that I'm saying that Brisbane is a backwater town, but I've actually seen a couple of Aussies on here in the past describe it as such as well. I'm sure some back then said give Atlanta a chance, too. But how did many people actually receive it, though? But I'm not going to counter your thoughts on Brisbane, cause it's really futile. It's like the Angelino's who've been on here before that also stress how L.A. 2028 will be so great & how it's going to "save the Olympics once again". 2028, & certainly 2032, are way far into the future & anything can happen between now & then. Who would've thought that Tokyo 2020 was going to deal with the most unprecedented challenges of any Olympic host city ever, just 8 years ago when they won their bid?

The final judgement of a Games comes once that Olympic flame is turned off at the closing ceremony. And even then, it's almost always a mixed bag, because people are always going to be very partial to their sentiments. To this day, Atlanta always gets judged with mixed reviews. Of course, most Americans (especially ones from the south) view it more positively than people from other parts of the country or especially abroad. And frankly. I'd view Brisbane more like an Atlanta than a Barcelona (speaking of another city elected under some sketchy circumstances). Just not as excited over the prospect of another Australian Games so soon, & when it's also with one of your lesser-known cities to boot, & when I still can remember Sydney 2000 very vividly. Especially when recent talks of South Africa, Bangkok & Singapore only make me dream of new Olympic hosts "what ifs". 

47 minutes ago, Australian Kiwi said:

Frankly found it odd that the IOC didn't hold off until AFTER Tokyo had hosted 2021. Otherwise wouldn't it have made sense to offer Tokyo first choice at 2032 should 2020 have actually been cancelled? 

It felt like the rush was Coates knowing that this was a potential scenario when COVID hit and was desperate to avoid Brisbane getting the boot to make way for Tokyo 2032. 

Everything about it was odd, to say the least. It's precisely why the whole thing just leaves a bad aftertaste TBW.

[Australian Kiwi]

Yep - it just doesn't sit right with me either. 

Its a very conflicting feeling - on one had I'm thrilled my country will host again (and I will be there with bells on) but there is no denying that it was all very odd. 

Even the announcement didn't quite spark the same joy as winning 2000 did in 1993. That was just huge. Even living in Melbourne at the time people were generally pleased at the outcome. Maybe its the fact that half the country is in COVID lockdown but when news of 2032 came through most people didn't really seem to care and it was out of the news cycle within a day.

[FYI]

8 minutes ago, Australian Kiwi said:

Even the announcement didn't quite spark the same joy as winning 2000 did in 1993. That was just huge. Even living in Melbourne at the time people were generally pleased at the outcome. Maybe its the fact that half the country is in COVID lockdown but when news of 2032 came through most people didn't really seem to care and it was out of the news cycle within a day.

I remember reading an article just about that the other day. How the new 2032 Olympic news was met with questions on radio talk shows down there, about "who's exactly going to pay for this?" And "we're on lockdown right now, but we're going to invite the world in 2032?", etc, instead of the jubilation scenes when Sydney won 2000 back in '93. I'll see if I can find it again & post it. 

[Sir Rols]

8 minutes ago, Australian Kiwi said:

Even the announcement didn't quite spark the same joy as winning 2000 did in 1993. That was just huge. Even living in Melbourne at the time people were generally pleased at the outcome. Maybe its the fact that half the country is in COVID lockdown but when news of 2032 came through most people didn't really seem to care and it was out of the news cycle within a day.

It’s not covid. It’s just a whole new, unengaging process. In the past, announcement day really was a big deal, because it was a competition and it wasn’t always clear cut who’d win. It was an Olympic event in itself and winning was as sweet as winning a Gold medal. If this new mode continues, that’s all gone. It will always be merely rubber stamping decisions which have gradually become inevitable over months of incremental announcements. Zero suspense or drama.

Aside from the fact it’s a system which lacks transparency, which understandably doesn’t sit right with many people, it’s not surprising it’s not very popular, especially here. This board was founded to study the old time bid races and attracted a following from those of us who got a kick over following those races forensically. It really flourished amidst those really competitive races, like for 2012. For those of us who were students of bid campaigning, that’s almost all dead now and there’s nowhere near the level of interest in following the process (not helped by the fact the next decade has already been locked in). No wonder this board is a corpse now compared to what it once was.

Personally, I’ve lost almost all interest in the bidding game. I’m active now basically just for the Games on now and for old time’s sake.

  

[Sir Rols]

23 minutes ago, FYI said:

I remember reading an article just about that the other day. How the new 2032 Olympic news was met with questions on radio talk shows down there, about "who's exactly going to pay for this?" And "we're on lockdown right now, but we're going to invite the world in 2032?", etc, instead of the jubilation scenes when Sydney won 2000 back in '93. I'll see if I can find it again & post it. 

“Who’s gonna pay for it” is just about the first question that start getting asked in any host city though. You know the old seven-year cycle - elation, doubt, grumbling, recrimination, nervousness, anticipation and back to elation.

[FYI]

1 hour ago, Sir Rols said:

It’s not covid. It’s just a whole new, unengaging process. In the past, announcement day really was a big deal, because it was a competition and it wasn’t always clear cut who’d win. It was an Olympic event in itself and winning was as sweet as winning a Gold medal. If this new mode continues, that’s all gone. It will always be merely rubber stamping decisions which have gradually become inevitable over months of incremental announcements. Zero suspense or drama.

Remember when the IOC voting sessions were live-streamed here, & it was treated like the opening & closing ceremonies "live chat" threads? The boards literally abuzz just as much, if not moreso, than the actual Games day themselves? Oogling with curiosity over the bid team presentations. And laughing at Prince Albert when he always had a "dig" question at one of the candidate cities lol. And then waiting when each city got voted off one by one until we had a winner. Sigh, it's amazing how that's virtually all gone now. 

1 hour ago, Sir Rols said:

“Who’s gonna pay for it” is just about the first question that start getting asked in any host city though. You know the old seven-year cycle - elation, doubt, grumbling, recrimination, nervousness, anticipation and back to elation.

Yes, I know. But the gist of that article was basically how the elation at the beginning was virtually non-existent. And how most of the callers mainly just yawned, bemoaned & basically just shrugged off the prospect of another Aussie Games.

[Sir Rols]

1 hour ago, FYI said:

Remember when the IOC voting sessions were live-streamed here, & it was treated like the opening & closing ceremonies "live chat" threads? The boards literally abuzz just as much, if not moreso, than the actual Games day themselves? Oogling with curiosity over the bid team presentations. And laughing at Prince Albert when he always had a "dig" question at one of the candidate cities lol. And then waiting when each city got voted off one by one until we had a winner. Sigh, it's amazing how that's virtually all gone now. 

Yes, I know. But the gist of that article was basically how the elation at the beginning was virtually non-existent. And how most of the callers mainly just yawned, bemoaned & basically just shrugged off the prospect of another Aussie Games.

Yeah, the old races were drama. And not just announcement day - the whole campaign. There were tactics, and surprises and scandals and constant shuffling of the odds. The heated and vicious slanging matches between rival supporters on the board. They could be exhilarating to those of us into that scene.

Brisbane’s crowning wasn’t a big excitement rush because there was nothing to get excited about. It was a formality, it didn’t beat anyone, it’s well in the future. I doubt there’ll be much “excitement” till after the handover segment in LA.

 I dunno. Bach’s reasoning to change it all up is that the old system created “losers”. But was that ever really a problem? Most serious bidders always came back. Then there were always the perennials like Istanbul and Madrid. Indeed, wasn’t the old saying that “you had to lose one to win one” - you needed to go through a losing bid, learn what you needed to do, how the system worked, get some feedback and then come back when the timing was right to win through.

Edited August 3, 2021 by Sir Rols

[Australian Kiwi]

1 hour ago, FYI said:

 

Yes, I know. But the gist of that article was basically how the elation at the beginning was virtually non-existent. And how most of the callers mainly just yawned, bemoaned & basically just shrugged off the prospect of another Aussie Games.

There is also a very strong sense of "been there, done that" with Sydney 2000 still so fresh in the national memory. We are a small country, and at the time the "once in a lifetime" element of it made it feel very special. I think the distinction we will see is that Sydney 2000 will be Australia's Games and Brisbane 2032 will be Queensland's. We are already seeing that in the pitch and even the distribution of Football venues (entirely within Qld except for matches in Sydney and Melbourne - 2000 was spread across many different states and cities). 

Queensland also has a quite a distinct identity also to draw upon - somewhat like Texas does within the US. I think this flavour will come through with branding/ceremonies etc. 

[FYI]

9 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

The heated and vicious slanging matches between rival supporters on the board. They could be exhilarating to those of us into that scene. Then there were always the perennials like Istanbul and Madrid. 

Yeah, & there were plenty. Who can forget those nasty Castellanos on here, or the not-so-nice (to say the least) Canadians back in 2001 for 2008. Or Tulsa (whatever happened to him) with his Annecy & anti-PyeongChang 2018 rhetoric lol. Then there was also a short period of the feisty Leipzig crowd, until they got the ole heave-ho & weren't included on the 2012 short-list, & they all quickly disappeared shortly after that lol. And of course the last one was the Angelino's boasting too much OTT & constantly putting down Paris for 2024. And there were plenty of others in-between that I can't even recall ATM. As I've said a couple of times on here before, but I would've paid for an L.A. V Toronto 2028 bid contest here. It would've been EPIC! 

9 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

I dunno. Bach’s reasoning to change it all up is that the old system created “losers”. But was that ever really a problem? Most serious bidders always came back. 

Well, remember that was apparently part of the reasoning why the double-allocation of Paris & LA happened in the first place? That supposedly neither of them would come back for 2028? Which especially in L.A.'s case, I would've called their bluff. But you know that if Bach & Co. could go back to the old glory days of Olympic bidding contests, with this wining & dining, & 'gift-giving', that they would in a mega-Olympic second! The there were "too many losers" in the old process was/is nothing but empty talk.

[FYI]

8 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

There is also a very strong sense of "been there, done that" with Sydney 2000 still so fresh in the national memory. We are a small country, and at the time the "once in a lifetime" element of it made it feel very special. 

And that's precisely the point. Why 2032 was still too soon for a nation of only 25 million. The U.S. by far, is much, much larger in population. But people, particularly from abroad, still bemoan that the U.S. hosts way too many Games. But if one were to put it in that perspective then, it's not all that off balance.

8 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

I think the distinction we will see is that Sydney 2000 will be Australia's Games and Brisbane 2032 will be Queensland's. 

Queensland also has a quite a distinct identity also to draw upon - somewhat like Texas does within the US. I think this flavour will come through with branding/ceremonies etc. 

And there's another element of why I liken Brisbane to Atlanta than any other unknown city that has hosted the Olympics. That "flavor" would seem pretty familiar, especially to the casual foreign observer. Most will not care about the minutiae of differences & distinct identity between one country's different regions, like the people living within that same country do. They'll only see just another 'American' or 'Australian' Games. "Been there, done that" already. Nothing 'new frontier' nor exciting about it.

[StefanMUC]

21 minutes ago, FYI said:

Then there was also a short period of the feisty Leipzig crowd, until they got the ole heave-ho & weren't included on the 2012 short-list, & they all quickly disappeared shortly after that lol. 

What??? LOL! Everyone * in Germany knew this was hopeless, I wonder where those trolls came from.

* everyone but the mayor of Leipzig and the then President of the old NOC

[FYI]

^Maybe it was the mayor's & former DOSB president's phantom accounts then. But they sure were an ornery clan nonetheless lol.

[WD96]

On 8/1/2021 at 9:14 AM, baron-pierreIV said:

OK, the Games are on, so sites like this one gets kinda exciting.  But once the flame is extinguished, and the BORING Brisbane 2032 award is now history, it will return to a BORING status here.  To the IOC:  you need to return to open bidding!!  You have to encourage multiple bids!!  FUGGEDABOUT about cost-saving.  I mean it's only MONEY!! People like Bezos and Buffett make oodles of them a day!  Let start-up Organizing Committees start Go-Fund-Me pages!! 

The world and bidding groupies need those multi-volume bid books!!  Architects have to churn out their billion-dollar stadia. arenas and venues so we will have something to ooh and aah and discuss here!!  We need those renderings!!

Bach is a disciple of Frump!!  He has fooled you, the rank-and-file IOC members, that the so-called "discussion-stage" process of selecting host cities is working!!  It is FAKE and a sham!!  Look at what it produces -- the Tier C, backwater city of Brisbane.  The likes of Madrid, Istanbul, Doha, Baku need to bid in EVERY CYCLE!!  As a democratic institution, you MUST ALLOW your members to put up cities in their FULLEST, glossiest catalogue GLORY!!  We need those keychains, "Candidate City" gewgaws -- and MOS TIMPORTANT OF ALL, the 

PINS!!  What sort of a world is it without the Baku 2036, Doha 2040 or Delhi 2044 pins and pencils??   A poorer, MORE BORING one for sure!!  

Bring back open City-Bidding!! 

Excuse myself but what the f**k is a open city bidding?

[baron-pierreIV]

1 hour ago, WD96 said:

Excuse myself but what the f**k is a open city bidding?

WHERE have you been?  Why do you think this site you are one, was created?  It was any city w/ an NOC accreditation could go ahead and BID to be an Olympic host.  I suggest you read a little on the history of how cities got the right to host the Olympic Games.  

[WD96]

52 minutes ago, baron-pierreIV said:

WHERE have you been?  Why do you think this site you are one, was created?  It was any city w/ an NOC accreditation could go ahead and BID to be an Olympic host.  I suggest you read a little on the history of how cities got the right to host the Olympic Games.  

As someone who has an interested in the Olympics, I never heard about this term before.

[Australian Kiwi]

7 hours ago, StefanMUC said:

What??? LOL! Everyone * in Germany knew this was hopeless, I wonder where those trolls came from.

* everyone but the mayor of Leipzig and the then President of the old NOC

LOL I had no idea Leipzig bidded for the Olympics. Its a great city - but I find this surprising and amusing. 

[Australian Kiwi]

3 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said:

WHERE have you been?  Why do you think this site you are one, was created?  It was any city w/ an NOC accreditation could go ahead and BID to be an Olympic host.  I suggest you read a little on the history of how cities got the right to host the Olympic Games.  

You mean where we saw multiple bids from one country? Like how Melbourne basically took on every American city for 1956? 

(We will always have that achievement of you, Brisbane!)

[Sir Rols]

17 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

There is also a very strong sense of "been there, done that" with Sydney 2000 still so fresh in the national memory. We are a small country, and at the time the "once in a lifetime" element of it made it feel very special. I think the distinction we will see is that Sydney 2000 will be Australia's Games and Brisbane 2032 will be Queensland's. We are already seeing that in the pitch and even the distribution of Football venues (entirely within Qld except for matches in Sydney and Melbourne - 2000 was spread across many different states and cities). 

Yeah, I can agree with the “once in a lifetime” thing. I’ve long believed the games should be a special occasion for a country, and having it too soon again lessens the experience. But, hey, you still grab those opportunities to host when you can and embrace them.

And you’re right i think that the reaction here is that it’s more of a Queensland event rather than they nation’s. It’s really been the Qld government and councils who’ve been pushing and making the running on it. But again, I think the nature of the IOC’s new process contributed to this - it wasn’t a race or competition against other cities where support and enthusiasm had to be harnessed, where the nation could rally behind their representative or where much domestic or international promotion was needed. It was mostly a bureaucratic process.

8 hours ago, FYI said:

And there's another element of why I liken Brisbane to Atlanta than any other unknown city that has hosted the Olympics. That "flavor" would seem pretty familiar, especially to the casual foreign observer. Most will not care about the minutiae of differences & distinct identity between one country's different regions, like the people living within that same country do. They'll only see just another 'American' or 'Australian' Games. "Been there, done that" already. Nothing 'new frontier' nor exciting about it.

I can see where you’re coming from with that. Similarly to how LA doesn’t really excite me. And of course Brisbane city itself is hardly a global glamour capital. But what it has that Atlanta lacked is that it’s a regional host, and the region that it’s the gateway for - from the Sunshine Coast down to the Gold Coast - is already our top tourism destination. It’s a really lovely coastal strip, attracts huge tourist numbers domestically and from across east Asia, and from what I’ve seen, the bid plan is designed to showcase many of the area’s gems. 

Brisbane itself has grown and developed significantly in terms of numbers and sophistication, and its location and the fact it’s been able to leverage the legacy of Gold Coast 2018, makes it a pretty solid and promising host IMO. I honestly think it has the potential to be more of a Barcelona-type host than an Atlanta, set a good example of responsibility and widen the pool of potential host locations in the years forward.,

[FYI]

1 hour ago, Sir Rols said:

I can see where you’re coming from with that. Similarly to how LA doesn’t really excite me. And of course Brisbane city itself is hardly a global glamour capital. But what it has that Atlanta lacked is that it’s a regional host, and the region that it’s the gateway for - from the Sunshine Coast down to the Gold Coast - is already our top tourism destination. It’s a really lovely coastal strip, attracts huge tourist numbers domestically and from across east Asia, and from what I’ve seen, the bid plan is designed to showcase many of the area’s gems. 

Brisbane itself has grown and developed significantly in terms of numbers and sophistication, and its location and the fact it’s been able to leverage the legacy of Gold Coast 2018, makes it a pretty solid and promising host IMO. I honestly think it has the potential to be more of a Barcelona-type host than an Atlanta, set a good example of responsibility and widen the pool of potential host locations in the years forward.,

I don't know where you get that Atlanta is not a regional host, because it very much is. It's after all, dubbed "the big apple of the South" (or should I say the 'big peach'), with many corporate headquaters there even before the Olympics. It's hosted political conventions & the Superbowl twice before. Atlanta was also even larger when it was elected than Brisbane is now. That's why city leaders there even pitched the idea to begin with back in the late 80's. But in the bigger picture, I don't see what being the gateway to a region, or being a top tourist destination in a smallish country that's already hosted twice before, has to do with anything compelling. California is also a very top tourist destination here, & has been. But that aspect doesn't excite you about L.A. much, as you already said. 

I also don't see Brisbane being like a Barcelona at all (other than in the way that they got their respective Games, that is). Especially cultural-wise, it's very much more like Atlanta (or Texas, as someone else mentioned). The last Summer Games that the U.S. & Australia held, they were back-to-back. Now it's going to be the same thing just 32 years later. Two culturally, very similar countries that also speak the same language. That's what most casual international observers will see. Not very exciting whatsoever in Olympic host terms. And sorry, but all this talk of Brisbane 'setting a good example of responsibility & widening the pool of potential host locations in the years forward', sounds extremely akin to all the braggart rhetoric from Angelino's that L.A. 2028 will be such a "huge success" (as it also was back in 1984), that cities will be "lining up" again to host the Olympics. IMO, I think that's still way too far into the future to make such declarations with such certainty in either case. Especially for Brisbane, when literally it'll be the smallest city/metro area in decades to host the big party. So it still remains to be seen how much that sustainability will hold up as it gets closer to Games time.