A group established to champion the Sunshine Coast’s interests ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games is set to cease operations.
The not-for-profit Sunshine Coast 2032 announced on Monday that it would disband.
A media statement outlined why.
“Following extensive consultation, legal review and careful consideration, the board has made the very difficult decision to commence an orderly wind-up of Sunshine Coast 2032,” it stated.
“Sunshine Coast 2032 was established with a clear and readily understood purpose: to bring our community together around the opportunities presented by the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and to ensure the Sunshine Coast had a strong community voice in the decade leading to the Games.
“As Brisbane 2032’s commercial, sponsorship and brand arrangements have developed, Sunshine Coast 2032 was asked to reconsider its name, branding and future operating arrangements.”
The statement said that a new-look group would not be feasible.
“The board explored a range of options, including rebranding and establishing a successor organisation with a broader remit.”
“While discussions with Brisbane 2032 were constructive, the board ultimately concluded that the changes required would fundamentally alter the organisation’s identity, focus and purpose.
“A successor organisation would have to have a significantly broader remit and would not have had the same immediate clarity of purpose around which our volunteers, sponsors, ambassadors and supporters originally came together.
“The board also needed to consider whether a successor organisation would have a sufficiently clear and distinctive role through to 2032, before asking our volunteers and sponsors to recommit.
“The board needed to be confident that the new organisation would have a clearly understood purpose, complement rather than duplicate or conflict with the official and institutional bodies involved in Brisbane 2032, and make a meaningful contribution in the years ahead.
“The board concluded there was insufficient clarity to provide that confidence.
“This decision was not driven by a lack of community support or belief in the vision.”
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The chair of the board is local supermarket chain owner Roz White, while the deputy chair and patron is swimming legend Duncan Armstrong.
“Sunshine Coast 2032 remained active and extremely well supported,” the statement continued.
“We are immensely proud of what hundreds of volunteers, sponsors, ambassadors, supporters and community leaders built together over four years. More than 70 foundation sponsors backed the vision, alongside many others who generously contributed their time, expertise and resources.
“Nor does the decision diminish what has been achieved. Sunshine Coast 2032 built relationships across business, sport, education, community and government; supported grassroots sport, local athletes and volunteering; and advocated for the Sunshine Coast to have a strong community voice in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“The board determined that rather than ask our community to recommit to a substantially different organisation without sufficient confidence in the environment in which it would operate, the responsible course was to honour what Sunshine Coast 2032 had achieved and bring the organisation to an orderly conclusion.
“This is not the outcome we intended. However, the relationships, regional momentum and shared ambition created through Sunshine Coast 2032 will remain an important legacy for our community.
“The board will now oversee a professional and respectful wind-up that honours the contribution of everyone who helped bring the organisation’s vision to life.”
