WINTER OLYMPICS UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS
Ladies and Gentlemen, Australia, having hosted two very successful Olympic Summer Games in Melbourne and Sydney, would like to invite the youth of the world to celebrate the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in our capital, Canberra. Australia is a sports nation and a very hospitable country – you can be sure that the athletes as well as the visitors from all over the world will be welcomed by our big heart. Contrary to popular belief, our winters can be cold and snowy, at least in the region around our nation's capital. Therefore we would like to celebrate the Winter Olympics in the time of 6th-22nd July 2018 and the Winter Paralympics in the time of 10th–19th August 2018 with you here under the Southern Cross. The Australian government supports the bid of Canberra with all means at our disposal. Yours Sincerely, Kevin Rudd Prime Minister of Australia
Table of content Invitation The City The Concept Canberra Perisher Blue Thredbo The Look of the Games Accommodation Transport By plane By transrapid By skitube Transportation in Canberra Financing Security
WINTER OLYMPICS UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS
The City Canberra means “meeting point” in the language of the local Ngabri people. In 1927 this meeting point became the new capital of Australia.
It is the only Australian city which is totally planned. The main characteristics of this plan are the parliamentary triangle, the Lake Walter Burley Griffin and wide open spaces. Canberra’s cityscape is ruled by public buildings – the New Parliament House with its imposing spire is the best known one.
Canberra is not just a capital, but a university city, too – therefore it has a nightlife, with a variety of entertainment optionsd. If you are interested in shopping you will find everything from luxury boutiques, malls and department stores to street markets.
During the Games the cultural facilities will focus on art from all over the world to create a special atmosphere in the city.
Since Australia is a sports nation the inhabitants of Canberra are very interested in sports and will be pleased to welcome the athletes from around the world. Indeed, Canberra is home to the Australian Institute of Sport, our premier training facility for elite athletes and the nation's "Gold Medal Factory".
The concept The XXIII. Winter Games in Canberra 2018 will take place in three clusters. All Ice sports will be held in Canberra. The Skiing sports will be held in Thredbo and Perisher Blue, the two most popular ski resorts in the Snowy Mountains.
Canberra The venues will be embedded into the cityscape of the Australian capital. Since the parliamentary triangle is one of the most characteristics we would like to award the medals on a pontoon in the Lake Walter Burley Griffin, right in front of the Commonwealth Place, with views sweeping views from New Parliament House to the imposing and poignant Australian War Memorial.
This pontoon will leave a great legacy for Canberra, since it will be used for concerts after the XXIII. Olympic Winter Games.
The area around the Canberra Stadium will become the new Olympic Park of Canberra.
Canberra Stadium will be the venue where the two premier ceremonies of the games will be celebrated. Right next to the stadium two new Arenas for Curling and Ice Hockey will be built, which will be used after the Games by the Australian Institute of Sport. Furthermore an Ice Oval for Speed Skating will be built in the Olympic Park. Its modular and innovative design will mean it can be dismantled and rebuilt in any other Australian city after the games. The Hall of Australia, a new arena, will be built 5,6 km (app. 11 min) away from the Olympic Park for Ice Hockey in the west of the Black Mountains.
The capacity of this new arena is 18,700 and the arena is constructed so that it can be redesigned into a shopping mall after the Games. Next to the Hall of Australia the Olympic Village will be built.
A second major indoor arena will be built 8,9 km (15 min) away in the north east from the Olympic Park – the Australia Dome.
This arena will have a capacity of 14,200 and will host Figure Skating, Ice Dance and Short Track. After the Games the arena is planned to be redesigned into an exhibition space and concert hall. Cluster
Venue
Canberra
Canberra Stadium Ceremonies
Hall of Australia
Sport
Ice Hockey
AIS Arena I Australia Dome
Figure Skating
AIS Arena II
Ice Dance Short Track Curling
AIS Oval
New or Existing Existing / the capacity will be increased from 24,700 to 55,000. New / will be redesigned into a shopping centre “Mall of Australia” New New / will be redesigned into a museum
Capacity
New
6,500
Speed Skating New – can be rebuilt in another city
55,000 – after the Games the capacity will be reduced again. 18,700
7,200 14,200
7,000
Perisher Blue The wide Valley of the largest ski resort of Australia offers the best place for hosting Cross Country and Biathlon. Therefore a new Nordic Centre will be built close to the skitube station in the alpine village of Perisher. The shooting stand for the Biathlon will be right next to it.
At the slopes of Mt Porcupine, Mt. Perisher and Mt. Blue Cow the sport events of Ski Jumping, Snowboard, Freestyle and Moguls will be held. The two new Ski Jumps will be the most impressive facility in Perisher Blue. Perisher Blue
Nordic Centre Perisher Valley
Nordic Skiing - New Cross Country Biathlon
15,000 – no seating at the track
Nordic Combined – Cross Country Ski Jump Perisher Nordic Skiing - New Valley Ski Jumping Nordic Combined – Ski Jumping Halfpipe Mt. Alpine Skiing – Existing – Perisher Snowboard some minor changes necessary Freestyle centre Alpine Skiing – Existing – Mt. Blue Cow Freestyle some minor Alpine Skiing – changes necessary Moguls
15,000
No seating
No seating
Thredbo The ski resort of Thredbo comply best with the requirements for the Alpine skiing events. The slopes around the alpine village of Thredbo have already hosted World Cup events in downhill, super-G, slalom giant and Slalom in the past. A new ski stadium will be built in Thredbo, which will be constructed and embedded like a sharp cone into the earth, ensuring the downhill events will have no problem meeting the FIS' 800m vertical drop downhill requirements at all.
The bob/luge/skeleton track will be the other venue to be built in Thredbo. Like the Ski Jump in Perisher the track will be used after the Games to inject new blood into these sports in the Southern Hemisphere. Thredbo
Existing – New 10,000– no Ski Stadium seating at the track Alpine Skiing – Existing – New 10,000– no Slalom Giant Ski Stadium seating at the track Sleeping Alpine Skiing - Existing – New 10,000 – no Giant/Lower True Slalom Ski Stadium seating at the Blue track Michaels Alpine Skiing – Existing – 10,000 – no Mistake/High Noon Super G some minor seating at the changes track necessary Bob/Luge/Skeleton Bobsleigh New No seating at Track the track Luge Saschas Schuss/Funnel Web World Class/Lower True Blue
Alpine Skiing Downhill
Skeleton
The Look of the Games The design of the Canberra Olympics will be the logo – the main colours will be yellow and green according to the “sports colours” of Australia.
Accommodation The Olympic Village will be built right next to the new “Hall of Australia” and will become a new suburban quarter after the games – in Perisher Blue and Thredbo two “snow villages” will be built for the athletes, which will become hotels afterwards. Canberra offers hotels in all different standards – from first class hotels to hotels for backpackers.
The number of tourists in Canberra is increasing and therefore the number of hotel rooms is rising, too. Perisher and Thredbo offer enough hotels for the visitors, since they are very popular ski resorts in Australia.
Transportation By plane Canberra’s International Airport is connected with all mayor Australian airports and with several foreign cities. Sydney and Melbourne are connected with many international destinations by the two mayor Australian Airlines, Quantas and Virgin Blue. Quantas is member of One World and Virgin Blue is member of the Star Alliance, the two leading international Airlines Cooperations.
By transrapid A new transrapid line will connect Canberra with Melbourne and Sydney. This new monorail system uses magnetic levitation and has a travel speed of 500 km/h. The transrapid line between Melbourne and Sydney via Canberra will be opened in 2015 and extensions to Adelaide and Brisbane via Newcastle are already in planning and might be opened before 2020. Connection Canberra – Sydney Canberra – Melbourne Canberra – Cooma Cooma – Melbourne
Distance in km 250 640 110 580
Travel Time 0:50 1:28 0:22 1:16
By skitube To shorten the travel times between Canberra and the Snowy Mountains the already existing skitube between Bullocks Flat is extended to Thredbo and Cooma via Jindabyne. The travel speed between Cooma and Bullocks Flat will be 120 km/h and 80 km/h between Bullocks Flat and the two Alpine Clusters. Connection Cooma – Jindabyne Jindabyne - Bullocks Flat Bullocks Flat – Thredbo Bullocks Flat – Perisher Blue
Distance in km 60 20 14 8
Travel Time 0:50 0:16 0:18 0:10
Transport in Canberra In Canberra the transport is guaranteed by the public bus system, which will connect the venues with the airport and the transrapid station. Due Canberra isn’t so large it is able to go by foot, too.
Financing The Winter Olympic Games will be financed along the traditional lines of the OCOG and non-OCOG categories. The permanent venues, the expanses for security and the necessary changes in the infrastructure will be financed mainly by the ACT, New South Wales, Victoria and the Australia. The planning of the Games, the temporary venues and the running of the Games will be financed by the OCOG. Since the Olympic Village in Canberra will be used as residential area after the Olympic Games it will be financed by well experienced property developer. The two Snow Villages in Thredbo and Perisher Blue will be financed by a hotel group, due they will become hotels afterwards. Canberra’s plan for the 2018 Olympic Games, designed to emphasise sustainability by balancing existing facilities with temporary venues, is aligned with the city’s longterm development goals, which have demonstrable economic viability and social benefits. Australia belongs to the strongest world economies and has agreed upon an AUD 400 million guarantee as financial backing. Canberra 2018 estimates revenue of AUD 505 million from ticket sales, the estimation is based on the analysis of past Olympic Games and other major international sporting events including the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The avarage ticket price is less than AUD 75 with almost 45 percent of available tickets price less than AUD 50.
Security The organisation team of the Olympic Games will form together the Australian government, the Australian military forces, the Australian secret service and the authorities of ACT, New South Wales and Victoria a security council for the Games to prevent that the XXIII. Winter Olympics will become a target.