The president of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games has cast doubt over the billion-dollar plan to redevelop the Gabba stadium as the event's key venue.
Andrew Liveris used his maiden speech to call for submissions from design agencies to deliver the "brand" for the Games.
"It's not just a brand for the Olympics. It's a symbol for our future," Mr Liveris told those attending the Queensland Media Club lunch at the Sofitel on Wednesday.
During the speech, he implied the redevelopment plans for the Gabba might prove too costly.
The government is carrying out a project validation report to confirm what the refit will cost, amid reports that it could blow out.
"I'm a fan of the Gabba being what it is — I like that idea, as a Brisbane boy … but we don't want to have a blown-out budget to do it."
"I am completely, 100 per cent hired, deployed to implement what we agreed with the IOC (International Olympic Committee).
"If a change is needed … the binding agreements are great but they aren't perfect.
"I'm sure that people responsible for looking at the cost, which is the government, will come eventually and say: 'This is the better plan'."
Brand needs to evoke a feeling
He said he expected the 2032 brand to do some "heavy lifting" to help deliver a cost-neutral Games.
"I take very seriously cost neutrality on the OCOG budget — which means revenue-raising … I know what it is to sell to customers," he said.
"I want people to come well before the torch is lit and stay well after the flame is out."
There will be a mascot and logo, which identifies with the region, but he said the brand needed to go further and evoke a feeling.
"We're not Paris. We're not London. We're not LA — well, who are we?" he asked.
The international business leader — who grew up in Brisbane and Darwin and has worked with five US presidents — said Australia, inherently, had what most societies aspired to.
"We can be the gold standard for the planet right here," Mr Liveris said.
"We are multi-dimensional in our attributes … we celebrate the achievements of our athletes and we are devoted to the education of our youth, and [to] safety and security.
"I list that as uniquely Australian.
"We should label that — brand that and deliver it."
Mr Liveris said that, with democracies struggling around the world, there was a growing need to bring "politics, policy and society" together again, and that means the "inclusion of everyone with an equal voice".
From a global field of candidates, there are now just a handful of names to fill the position of chief executive of the Organising Committee. These applicants will be discussed at a board meeting on Friday.
Mr Liveris said Brisbane 2032 would adopt a complex, hybrid business model, taking elements from the largely publicly-funded London 2012 Games and the privately-funded Los Angeles 2028 Games.
"Brisbane 2032 in my mindset … is LA 2028 and London 2012 combined," he said.
"We do, indeed, have government input and oversight, which also require the organising committee's finances to be cost-neutral — effectively making us privately funded. You can't get there without the private-funding model."
Agencies have until 5pm on Wednesday, October 19, to submit their bids via the Queensland Government's QTenders website. The Brisbane 2032 Games brand will be delivered by mid next year.
