Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Olympics on Wednesday, triggering celebratory fireworks as it became the third Australian city to host the Summer Games after Melbourne and Sydney.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach confirmed the widely expected result after a vote at the IOC session in Tokyo.
“The International Olympic Committee has the honour to announce that the Games of the 35th Olympiad are awarded to Brisbane, Australia,” Bach said.
The announcement was greeted by cheers from the Brisbane delegates in Tokyo, while fireworks lit up the skies above the Australian city thousands of miles (kilometres) away.
Brisbane’s victory looked a certainty after it was unanimously proposed as the single candidate for 2032 by the IOC’s 15-strong executive board in June.
“It’s a historic day not just for Brisbane and Queensland, but for the entire country,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“Only global cities can secure the Olympic Games, so this is fitting recognition for Brisbane’s standing across our region and the world.”
Australia has already hosted the Olympics twice, in Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000, widely considered one of the most successful Games in recent history.
Hundreds of people packed Brisbane’s Southbank riverside precinct for an announcement viewing party, watching the city’s final pitch to the IOC projected on a big screen.
Rhys Cush, 24, one of those in the masked-up crowd, said he hoped to work at the 2032 Olympics and also attend as a spectator.
“I’m an extremely big fan. I even watched the softball this morning,” he told AFP. “I’m super excited about having the Olympics coming here.”
Lauren Granger, 42, said she hoped the 2032 Olympics would recreate the buzz of Sydney’s successful 2000 Games.
“We flew down to Sydney and we were at the Olympics and it was just such a great experience for our family,” she said.
“That was 20 years ago so we’d love to be able to relive that in 2032 with our kids.