AOC welcomes IOC preference for Brisbane to host 2032 Olympics

The photo taken on Jan. 8, 2020 shows the Brisbane City Hall. (Photo by Yuheng Wu/Xinhua)

The Australian Olympic Committee welcomes the IOC's decision to pick Brisbane as its "preferred host" for the 2032 Olympic Games.

SYDNEY, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) welcomed the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to enter into "targeted dialogue" with the city of Brisbane over hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The decision, taken at this morning's IOC Executive Board Meeting, confers "preferred host" status to the Brisbane candidature, which has the support of the Federal Government, Queensland Government, the Council of Mayors, South East Queensland, Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia, read a statement from the AOC on Thursday.

The AOC said the IOC's Future Host Committee has been in continuous dialogue with the Brisbane candidature, which examined Queensland's capacity to host an Olympic Games, and targeted dialogue is specifically related to the 2032 Games.

AOC president John Coates said there remains a lot of work to be undertaken as the candidature process continues.

"This is an important next step in an ongoing dialogue with the Future Host Commission. We are very clear that we must continue to work hard in outlining our vision for a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032," he said.

Located on the Queensland coast, Brisbane is set to become the third Australian city to host the Summer Olympic Games after Melbourne and Sydney.