Brisbane Olympics Organisers Put Positive Spin on Emblem Blunder

A minister and a marketing guru have put a brave spin on the accidental leaking of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic emblem three days ahead of schedule.

In an embarrassing cock-up, an explainer video meant to go live after a planned ceremonial event on Oct. 5 briefly appeared on the event’s YouTube channel about 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 2.

By then, screenshots of images and text were circulating on social media.

In a hurriedly scheduled press conference, Minister Tim Mander and Brisbane2032 Chief Marketing Officer Brent Hill talked up the accidental release as a pleasant surprise.

“This is the culmination of a really exciting week,” Mander told reporters on the Gold Coast.

“This is an incredibly exciting milestone as we head to 2032.”

For Hill, it was a case of making the most of an unexpected opportunity.

“The publicity has been incredible,” he said.

The Olympic emblem is the crest of a pink cockatoo, an inland Australian bird, with the colour stylised to resemble an Olympic and Paralympic flame.

The Paralympic emblem will feature the more familiar yellow of the sulphur-crested cockatoo.

It follows a staged unveiling this week around Queensland regional centres, ahead of what was planned to be the official reveal on Oct. 5 in Brisbane.

Mander said the emblem “embodies the cheeky nature of the Queensland spirit.”

“It’s an emblem that reflects our state and symbolises it,” he said.

“It’s an emblem that will be synonymous with the Games and will be known for decades to come.”

Parts of the crest were unveiled during the week at events in Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast.

Speculation as to the identity of the emblem was encouraged, with athletes suggesting it could be anything from a crocodile’s tail to a mango.

Former Olympic and Paralympic legends including Ian Thorpe, Grant Patterson, Anna Meares and Alexa Leary have taken part.

Hill also put a positive spin on events.

“We’ve really appreciated the level of interest and the guesses have been coming through thick and fast,” he said.

“From our perspective, the fact it’s out there now, that people are seeing it, the reaction’s been really positive.”

But Hill admitted the Games would have preferred the unveiling to have proceeded as planned.

“If we had our time over, maybe there’s different ways we could have done it,” he said.

He put down the leak to sleuths trawling the internet on Oct. 2, looking for clues.

“We were blown away by just how excited everybody was,” he said.

He promised there was still much more to come at Oct. 5’s official event.

By Andrew Stafford in Brisbane