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(Sports)Melbourne Lord Mayor to seriously consider Olympic Games bid

Xinhua, August 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

Melbourne's Lord Mayor said he would consult sports experts on whether the city should lodge a bid for the 2028 or 2032 Olympic Games.

As the Australian Olympic team returned from their Rio Games campaign, which has been widely criticized in Australia as unsuccessful, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle put Melbourne hosting the Olympics in 2028 or 2032 back on the agenda.

Doyle said Melbourne's existing world-class sports facilities made it a perfect candidate to host the Games.

"I don't think it's sustainable that nations, particularly those that are not very affluent nations, spend billions upon billions on stadiums and facilities that are then unused after the Olympics," Doyle told News Limited on Thursday.

"We could show a very friendly Games, a very inclusive Games.

"We could show how you purpose-build stadiums so that they are an integral part of the city's infrastructure."

Doyle said he would consult with Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) President John Coates and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member James Tomkins as well as Melbourne-based former IOC vice-president Kevan Gosper and former Lord Mayor, Ron Walker, to assess whether a bid was realistic.

Gosper, however, said an expected joint bid between the Gold Coast and Brisbane for the 2028 or 2032 Games was more likely to be successful with the two locations better suited to hosting the Olympics in the desired August time slot.

"I think it really is wrong to build the expectations of Melbourne and Victoria that the Games are likely to come back earlier than mid-century," Gosper told News Limited on Thursday.

A Committee for Melbourne lobby group member, Martine Letts, said Melbourne would be a good host of the Games but the city had to establish its priorities.

"You'd need to understand how much energy preparing for the Olympics would take in comparison to other priorities that the city may have to make sure that it continued to be a global leader," she said.

Melbourne last hosted the Olympic Games in 1956, its bid to host the Games in 1996 was foiled by internal divisions. Endit