Brisbane picked to host 2032 Olympics without a rival bid
Tokyo, Jul 21: Brisbane was picked Wednesday to host the 2032 Olympics, the inevitable winner of a one-city race steered by the IOC to avoid rival bids.
The Games will go back to Australia 32 years after the popular 2000 Sydney Olympics. Melbourne hosted in 1956.
"We know what it takes to deliver a successful Games in Australia," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told International Olympic Committee voters in an 11-minute live video link from his office.
Brisbane follows 2028 host Los Angeles in getting 11 years to prepare for hosting the Games. Paris will host in 2024.
The 2032 deal for the Australian east coast city looked done even months before the formal decision by IOC members at their meeting ahead of the Tokyo Games, which open Friday.
The IOC gave Brisbane exclusive negotiating rights in February. That decision left Olympic officials in Qatar, Hungary and Germany looking blindsided with their own stalled bidding plans.
Brisbane was the first winner in a new bidding format. It lets the IOC approach potential candidates and pick them uncontested before the previously mandated seven-year advance mandated other in Olympic contests.
The streamlined process was designed to cut campaign costs, give the IOC more control and remove the risk of vote-buying.
Olympic events will be staged across the state of Queensland, including in Gold Coast, which hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
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People are voting fearlessly in West Bengal this time: PM Modi
Hardoi (UP) (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said voters
are casting their vote in West Bengal this time in a "fearless atmosphere", which was unimaginable in the past six or seven decades.
He also asserted that the assembly poll results on May 4 will further strengthen the resolve of a developed India.
Voting is underway in 142 constituencies of West Bengal in the second and final phase of polling.
Addressing a gathering after the inauguration of the Ganga Expressway here, Modi said today marks an important day in the festival of democracy.
"Voting for the second phase is underway in Bengal, and reports indicate a massive turnout, with people stepping out in large numbers just like in the first phase. Images of long queues at polling stations are flooding social media, reflecting the enthusiasm of the people to exercise their democratic right," he said.
"What we are witnessing in Bengal today is unprecedented which was difficult to imagine in the past six to seven decades, a fearless environment where people are voting without fear," he said.
The prime minister said this is a powerful symbol of the country's Constitution and the strengthening of democracy.
"I express my gratitude to the great people of Bengal for being so aware of their rights and participating in large numbers," he said.
With several hours of voting still left, the prime minister urged the people of Bengal to continue participating in this democratic festival with the same enthusiasm.
Modi said in the recent Bihar Assembly elections, the BJP and NDA achieved a historic and decisive victory.
"Just yesterday, results of local body elections in Gujarat showed that the BJP secured victories in nearly 80 to 85 percent of municipalities and panchayats.
"The results on May 4 will further strengthen the resolve of a developed India and will infuse new energy into the pace of development of the country."
The first phase of polling for 152 seats -- out of the 294-member West Bengal assembly -- was held on April 23.
The counting of votes for assembly polls in Kerala, West Bengal, Puducherry, Assam and Tamil Nadu will take place on May 4.
