Lost in translation: Olympics boss defends outburst at Premier
A tense, awkward and very public exchange in which Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates ordered Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics has detracted from celebrations of Brisbaneās 2032 Games win. WATCH THE VIDEO
Palaszczuk had declared she would not attend the opening ceremony and instead return immediately to Queensland after Brisbane won the right to host the 2032 Olympics.
Her decision was in response to political criticism of her trip to Japan to spearhead Brisbaneās pitch to the International Olympic Committee.
However at a press conference following the International Olympic Committeeās endorsement of Brisbaneās bid, Coates insisted the Premier must be at the Tokyo ceremony.
āYou are going to the opening ceremony,ā he told her, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.
āIām still the deputy chair of the candidature leadership group and so far as I understand there will be an opening and closing ceremony in 2032 and all of you have got to get along there and understand the traditional parts of that.ā
āSo none of you are staying and hiding in your rooms, alright?ā
In reply, a clearly bewildered Palaszczuk said: āI donāt want to offend anybody, soā¦ā
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"ā Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) July 21, 2021"
In interviews following the exchange, she has insisted her announcement she would not attend the opening ceremony was made before Brisbane won the 2032 bid.
While it now appears she will show up to the event, she has stopped short of confirming that herself.
After much public criticism of his behaviour toward the Premier, Coates hit back, saying his comments had been ācompletely misinterpreted by people who werenāt in the roomā.
āAbsolutely I believe the premier should come to the opening ceremony and she has accepted,ā he said in a statement.
āThe Premier and I have a long standing and very successful relationship. We both know the spirit of my remarks and I have no indication she was offended in any way.ā
On ABC Thursday morning, Palaszczuk said that now Brisbane was confirmed as 2032 host, there was an expectation that she, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck would go to the Tokyo opening ceremony.
āSo I will leave that to John Coates and (IOC president) Thomas Bach but let me make it very clear I am not going to offend anyone now that we have just been awarded the Games,ā she said.
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Pressed on whether she would attend, she said: āYouāre just talking semantics here. There wasnāt even an invitation that had been issued.ā
The premier was quick to praise Coatesā role in the Brisbane bid, declaring that āif we didnāt have John Coates, this would not have happenedā.
At the press conference, Coates said Olympic Games opening ceremonies cost between $75m to $100m and were major exercises for Games organising committees.
āIt puts the stamp on the games,ā he said.
āMy very strong recommendation is that the Premier and the Lord Mayor and the minister be there and understand it.ā
Federal Sports Minister Colebeck who is part of the bid team in Tokyo said he would attend the ceremony out of respect for the IOC.
Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll defend Coatesā behaviour, saying he was committed to Brisbaneās candidature.
āHe wants to get everything right. It (Coatesā comments) didnāt look good but they have a good relationship,ā he told the ABC.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said IOC members obviously felt strongly about the opening ceremony. Now that Brisbane has been awarded the games, and based on Coatesā comments, he believed Palaszczuk āshould goā.
He downplayed any rift between Palaszczuk and Coates.
āI know that John Coates and the Premier are very close, they have a very strong relationship,ā Miles said.
Palaszczuk said Brisbaneās win showed mid-sized cities can actually get the Games under their IOCās new protocols.
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