Brisbane Olympic organisers told: Keep athlete numbers down

According to International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates, athlete numbers for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane must be decreased in order to keep the events as cost-effective as feasible.

With the addition of cricket, flag football, squash, baseball, and softball in Los Angeles in 2028, participant numbers will exceed 11,000, but Coates hopes to reduce that figure when Australia hosts the event four years later.

“We’re now going from 10,500 athletes in Paris (in 2024) to 11,242 athletes in Los Angeles,” the former Australian Olympic Committee president and member of Brisbane’s Olympic organizing committee told The Australian newspaper.

“That is the problem for the future of the Olympic Games because we must continue to look at cost-cutting and efficiencies in the games’ operations.”

“But it’s pretty clear to me with Brisbane, it’s clear to our organising committee and certainly me, that we need to reduce the numbers and get back to a manageable number of 10,500.”

Los Angeles is on track to be the second-largest Olympics in terms of athlete participation, trailing only Tokyo in 2021.

Coates’ goal to minimize numbers would necessitate the removal of several events from the schedule, despite his enthusiasm for the return of cricket to the Games in Los Angeles for the first time since 1900.

The sport, which will pique the interest of Indian subcontinent residents in particular, is yet to be confirmed for Brisbane.

“To get cricket on means another 1 billion people watching on top of the 4.5 billion that we attract already,” Coates said.

While speculation about which other sports may be added or withdrawn from the 2032 schedule continues, Coates has denied claims that horse racing may be included in future Games. ‘It ain’t going to happen,”he remarked flatly.

Get Related Articles On Sportzonenews