BERLIN • Brisbane took a major step towards being named 2032 Olympic hosts after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Wednesday the Australian city had been picked as the preferred partner to start talks for the Games.

IOC president Thomas Bach said the global body had "unanimously approved this recommendation" of the commission in charge of future hosts.

Several cities and countries had publicly expressed an interest in the 2032 Games, including Brisbane, Budapest, Doha, China, Indonesia and Germany's Ruhr Valley among others.

Brisbane earned bonus points for its high percentage of existing venues, a good masterplan, experience in organising major events and its favourable weather among other factors.

The IOC overhauled its bidding rules in 2019 to reduce costs and make the process easier for cities.

There are no official candidate cities campaigning ahead of the vote as has been the case in the past.

Instead, the IOC puts the preferred host to the vote at its session following another review by the commission.

Kristin Kloster Aasen, who heads the future host commission, said it was not clear when the IOC vote would be held, as it all depended on dialogue with Brisbane, which would start right away.

"They are a very advanced project, a number of criteria that sit very well with us. It has been moulded for a number of years, good legacy plans, good venue plan," she said. "There are many, many things that made us put this forward.

Australia last hosted the Olympics in Sydney in 2000, while Melbourne also hosted the 1956 Summer Games.

If Brisbane wins the vote, Australia will consider building a new stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2032 Games, Queensland state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said yesterday.

REUTERS