The road to Brisbane 2032 is becoming the first major test of Kirsty Coventry’s mandate, a IOC president who has made it clear from day one that she wants more open, democratic and horizontal Olympic Games. Her vision is based on updating the Olympic movement without fear: attracting young people, embracing global sports and ensuring that any discipline added to the programme is both accessible and relevant for 21st-century audiences.
Los Angeles 2028 has already set a trend with the inclusion of T20 cricket, flag football, lacrosse sixes and squash, as well as the return of baseball/softball and the consolidation of skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing. Brisbane inherits that momentum with a clear message: the Games are no longer a fixed format but an ecosystem that evolves alongside the societies that host them.
A different IOC… and a decisive test in 2026
Coventry faces the challenge of defining Brisbane’s sports programme in 2026, a decision that will shape her real leadership. The criteria are clear: global sports, appealing to young audiences, equal, cost-efficient and able to perform well both on television and in digital and urban environments.
The novelty lies not only in what may enter but also in the philosophy: the IOC listens openly to federations, athletes and host cities, evaluating each bid by its ability to connect with the future of sport.
Australian-flavoured candidates… and padel
Australia wants to leave its mark, and the list of potential new sports reflects this. One of the favourites is beach lifesaving, a surf-lifesaving discipline deeply rooted in Australian coastal culture. It is joined by candidates such as touch football, a non-contact rugby variant whose philosophy mirrors flag football in this respect; karate, which seeks to return after Tokyo 2020; and British-heritage sports such as snooker or lawn bowls.
Netball emerges as one of the major names in the conversation: huge following across the Commonwealth, increasing professionalisation and Australia as a historical powerhouse. Few sports align better with the IOC’s aim of promoting disciplines that are accessible, inclusive and widely followed.
Meanwhile, padel has accelerated its Olympic campaign. With explosive global growth, an expanding professional calendar and the ability to fill urban courts, it has become one of the sports most openly dreaming of Brisbane 2032.
The Games and the street: the language of young people
The success of skateboarding, climbing and surfing has delivered a key lesson: the Games need to speak the language of the street. To attract younger generations, stadiums are not enough; they need sports that breathe urban life, fast rhythm and contemporary aesthetics. This is the space where the next wave of disciplines could appear: reduced formats, mixed competitions, dynamism, spectacle and the ability to generate viral content.
The major risk of this process is that the Games become a constant rotation of sports depending on the host country or current trends. That dynamic would weaken the Olympic identity. Coventry now has the opportunity to show that a flexible programme is not a whimsical one. Brisbane 2032 will be the laboratory, and it will need to demonstrate that sports fitting naturally into the Australian edition will still add value in 2036, 2040…
