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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Joe Hinchliffe

Will a Trump Tower finally rise in Australia – or is this more flash and bluster on the Gold Coast glitter strip?

Illustration of a proposed Trump Tower at Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
News of plans for a Trump Tower in Australia spread on media around the world. But those with longer memories might ask: will it be built at all? Illustration: Altus Property Group

Five towers rise from the port of Rio de Janeiro, each 38 storeys high, together the largest office complex in Brazil. A 47-storey glass monolith of luxury residential condominiums and a casino soars above the Georgian Black Sea resort town of Batumi. An ocean resort in Tijuana, Mexico looms over the Pacific.

Separated by continents, two things unite these projects. One is the name emblazoned upon their peaks like crowns: Trump. The other is the fact they were never built, existing only in the archives of the internet as breathy press releases and glossy renders.

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