Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic emblems briefly shown on official YouTube account ahead of scheduled unveiling
On Friday the Brisbane 2032 Games’ official YouTube channel briefly posted an “emblem explainer” video that displayed the Olympic and Paralympic emblems, three days before their scheduled official unveiling. The images shown included a pink cockatoo for the Olympic emblem and a sulfur crested cockatoo for the Paralympic emblem.
Organisers had been revealing parts of the design across Queensland over the prior week, with pieces released from Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton to the Sunshine Coast and a day at the Gold Coast. In the posted video the emblems appeared in the top-right corner and the inspiration behind them was described in the video's description. A screenshot of the logo was posted on Reddit before being removed by Reddit’s legal operations team. When approached by Guardian Australia, the Brisbane Olympic committee confirmed the logo to be accurate but did not provide further comment.
On Saturday morning the Brisbane Olympic committee published the two logos in full on Instagram, accompanying the images with the caption: "Consider this your official reveal." The Instagram post also stated: "Inspired by our reef, beaches, hinterland, and everything in between, they bring together the places, people and spirit that will take us to 2032," and added: "Distinctive. Unmistakably Queensland. And just a little bit cheeky."
Queensland’s minister for the Olympics, Tim Mander, was questioned about the leak on Nine’s Today Show and downplayed the incident, saying: "I’m actually excited it’s finally out." He added: "We’ve spent the week right down the coast of Queensland, Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast, and a day at the Gold Coast revealing the emblem piece by piece." Today host Alison Piotrowski replied: "That’s one way to spin it."
Responding to suggestions the leak may have been deliberate, Mander said people would have theories but blamed those who were "so enthusiastic about looking for the emblem" that they had been scanning the internet and discovered it. He also said: "It’s appeared for a short time, and it’s out there." Mander expressed confidence the design would be widely recognised, saying: "They’re going to see it everywhere. It will be synonymous with Brisbane 2032 for decades and decades to come."
Separately, the 2032 Olympic Park Stadium in Brisbane is reported to be in the early construction phase. In August the Queensland government released concept images of a parkland precinct around the stadium intended to address concerns about the loss of inner-city parkland, plans that critics described as a "fantasy vision."
Organisers have confirmed the official unveiling will follow the planned launch, with Mander saying the Monday launch will include the story behind the emblem, and animated vision.