The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-09 · by Marissa Calligeros
Stepping into the airconditioned Rivershed at Howard Smith Wharves brings relief from the sticky day outside.
asserted
Stepping → step → day
But not long after sitting down inside, the 150-odd politicians, powerbrokers and other members of Queensland’s business elite are up on their feet again.
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politicians → sit → feet
It’s the King’s Birthday public holiday in Queensland, and Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner is wearing his green Adidas sneakers.
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Schrinner → ’ → sneakers
Are you ready surrounding suburbs?” entertainer Neridah Waters asks the crowd from the stage, where she stands dressed in a spangled leotard.
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she → surround → leotard
She leads the room in a dance to the Starship hit We Built This City, with local lyrics and choreography to match: think the “Sherwood shimmy” and the “Camp Hill clicks”, followed by the “Paddington punch”, the “Red Hill roll” and the “Fortitude Valley party pelvis”.
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We → lead → punch
This is a snapshot of the Brisbane that Olympic organisers want to share with the world: a city that says “yes”, with a relaxed, cheeky, and friendly spirit.
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that → want → spirit
The Committee of Brisbane’s lunch event, themed around Brisbane’s brand positioning, is meant to come just hours after a big reveal of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic emblems.
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event → theme → emblems
An unfortunate YouTube leak days earlier changes the tone, but doesn’t dampen the spirit in the room.
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leak → change → room
Former South Bank chairman Steve Wilson and his company-director wife, Jane, who have poured millions into restoring their historic Kangaroo Point mansion – and who first proposed the new 63,000-seat Olympic stadium at Victoria Park – are among the room’s most enthusiastic dancers.
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who → pour → dancers
Others spotted around the tables are Raynuha Sinnathamby, daughter of rich lister and mastermind of the Greater Springfield development Maha Sinnathamby; co-owner of James Street’s Calile Hotel, Catherine Malouf; Olympian turned millionaire property developer Mark Stockwell; and Harvey Lister, head of ASM Global, which operates Suncorp Stadium.
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which → spot → Stadium
Brisbane will be the smallest city since Helsinki in 1952 to host a summer Olympics.
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Brisbane → host → Olympics
Ask people overseas what they know of Australia and they might list kangaroos, koalas, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and perhaps Uluru.
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they → ask → kangaroos
Fewer can name Brisbane.
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Fewer → name → Brisbane
Tourism Australia’s latest major ad campaign, fronted by south-east Queensland’s own Robert Irwin and an animated toy kangaroo, snubs Brisbane entirely for shots of the Great Barrier Reef, South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula and a Margaret River winery.
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campaign → front → Reef
But Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner insists Brisbane punches above its weight.
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Brisbane → insist → weight
“Yes, we’re friendly, yes we’ve got a great climate, but this is a truly innovative go-ahead place and a resilient place and also one that says yes to things, gives things a go,” Schrinner says.
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Schrinner → ’re → go
Work to craft a new identity for Brisbane began three years ago when the Olympic organising committee surveyed 3000 people, both here and overseas.
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committee → craft → people
They were asked what they thought of the Queensland capital, what they would want it to be remembered for, and what would make them want to come here.
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them → ask → what
Brisbane Olympics president Andrew Liveris spruiks the city as one of the friendliest in the world – it was the only Australian city to feature in Time Out’s top 20 friendliest cities list last year.
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it → spruik → list
But he mainly defines it as a “lifestyle superpower”.
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he → define → superpower
“We should really let the world know about that, so that they can come and be part of it,” he says.
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he → let → it
Brisbane averages more than 230 days of sunshine each year, with about 110 of those bluebird days with barely a cloud in sight.
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Brisbane → average → sight
It boasts one of the youngest populations out of Australia’s major cities – the median age here is 36.5 – and is the nation’s fastest growing capital city.
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age → boast → cities
Ninety-two per cent of Brisbane residents rate their overall quality of life highly.
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cent → rate → life
“Millions and millions of visitors are heading our way.
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Millions → head → way
Billions more will tune in ... and witness the wonders firsthand of what we have to offer: our incredible environment and nature that we care about, our warm and our welcoming people … [and] our absolute love of sport,” Liveris says.
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Liveris → tune → sport
“Brisbane is having a moment.”
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Brisbane → have → moment
puts it: “Brisbane is about to plug into arguably the largest brand-building, identity-shaping machine on the planet
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Brisbane → put → planet
Get it right and Brisbane’s potential economic opportunity from the Olympics is $70 billion over the 20 years from 2032-2052, according to an analysis from Deloitte.
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opportunity → get → Deloitte
But Northey says the city absolutely needs its own identity, “because without it, it’s just Australia, but not Sydney”.
Williams, the Committee for Brisbane chief executive, agrees.
“For a long time, Brisbane was defined by a comparison to other cities,” she says.
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she → say → cities
“Today, we’re at a point where we can confidently define ourselves on our own terms.
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we → ’re → terms
A history of recent attempts in brand positioning gives some clues on what might resonate, and what to avoid.
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what → give → what
Brisbane was still in the long shadow of the Fitzgerald inquiry into political and police corruption when the nickname “Brisvegas” emerged in the mid-90s, as a tongue-in-cheek comparison of the city’s historically quiet, sleepy nightlife with the glitz and 24-hour excitement of Las Vegas.
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nickname → emerge → Vegas
By 2009, then-lord mayor Campbell Newman was trying to shed that image, launching Brisbane’s “new world city” campaign.
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Newman → try → campaign
More recently, Tourism Queensland enlisted beloved cartoon character Bluey and Robert Irwin to put the Sunshine State on the international map.
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Queensland → enlist → map
In the campaign’s television commercial, Irwin asked: “Ever wished you could live in Bluey’s world for real life?”
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you → ask → life
But ask Associate Professor Monica Chien, an expert in destination branding at the University of Queensland, and she’ll tell you Brisbane’s identity is still evolving.
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identity → ask → you
“That is both its challenge and its opportunity,” she says.
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she → say → ?
When asked what words come to mind when she thinks of Brisbane, Chien replies: “Subtropical, friendly, diverse, liveable, relaxed, optimistic, sustainable, emerging.
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Chien → ask → emerging
“I see Brisbane as an optimistic, subtropical and outward-looking city.
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I → see → city
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
