Olympics-Brisbane wins IOC board approval, set to land 2032 Games

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) -The Australian city of Brisbane moved closer to landing the 2032 Olympics on Thursday after winning the approval of the International Olympic Committee's executive board and the choice will be put to a final vote next month.

Queensland state capital Brisbane had been the preferred host, chosen in February, and the board's proposal now goes to the IOC session before the Tokyo Olympics next month.

"It is in the hands of IOC members to vote now on July 21," IOC President Thomas Bach said.

If Brisbane is elected, as expected, it would become the third Australian city after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000 to host the summer Olympics.

"The Brisbane 2032 Olympic project shows how forward-thinking leaders recognise the power of sport as a way to achieve lasting legacies for their communities," Bach added.

Several cities and countries had publicly expressed an interest in staging the 2032 Games including Indonesia, Budapest, China, Doha and Germany’s Ruhr valley.

But in a new process that does not openly pit cities against each other, Brisbane had already moved ahead of any rivals in February, having won praise from the IOC.

It earned bonus points for its high percentage of existing venues, support from all levels of government and the private sector, experience in organising major events and its favourable weather, among other things.

The state of Queensland hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

A commitment in April from the Australian government to split the infrastructure costs 50-50 with local government allowed Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to forward the necessary financial guarantees to the IOC.

"The (IOC) members have all the necessary documentation and the recommendation of the board and future host commission," Bach said.

"(In July) it is about voting. Let's see then. The vote in the commission and in the board was very clear."

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 a vote at its session.

Tokyo will host the postponed 2020 Olympics this year and Paris will stage the 2024 Games. Los Angeles has been awarded the 2028 summer Olympics.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann,Editing by Toby Davis and Ed Osmond)