The Games legacies can be enjoyed along a green and gold runway that starts tomorrow, July 23rd that will take us to an Opening Ceremony in Brisbane in 2032, and then a decade beyond that.

There are more than 30 major global sporting competitions coming to Australia along this runway and more are being added still. This year alone we will see the Women’s World Cup in basketball, the World Road Cycling Championship and the World Short Course Swimming Championship come to our shores.

Next year the Women’s World Cup in football, the Commonwealth Games in 2026, the Rugby World Cup for men in 2027 and women in 2029, and so the list goes on.

For those 30-plus events, volunteers will be mobilised, sports communities activated, the world’s greatest athletes in their respective sports on display to inspire.

New sports facilities will come on-line and importantly for Brisbane 2032, community facilities that will have an active life before playing their part in the Games – and then returned to the community.

And perhaps most importantly, young Australians and some not-so-young, will be inspired to have a go at a sport that best suits their capabilities and aspirations.

Having a go is an important first step for all of us to achieve and enjoy the many benefits sport can bring. Improving our physical health and our mental health. Bringing communities together and instilling pride. But without having a go in the first place, none of these benefits can be realised.

There’s no question Brisbane and Queensland has embraced these Games and the opportunity it represents. But it is ten years away and for many, perhaps a little over the horizon.

That’s why we are saying our time starts now. The Organising Committee has come together and planning is underway. Three levels of government are working well together. The business community has its head down to explore the possibilities over the next ten years to make a lasting difference to Queensland and Australia.

Importantly, for a Games to be successful, our Australian Team must be successful. For that to happen, we need to invest in our sports to create opportunities for the athletes of today and tomorrow.

The AOC and Commonwealth Games Australia have made a submission to government calling for a reset in the way government invests in sport.

Our 10+10 strategy is designed to ensure that sport is acknowledged for the social and economic benefits that it brings to Australia so that appropriate investment in sport is started now, gives us success in 2032 and for ten years beyond that. And it is an investment, not a handout.

Success doesn’t happen with the flick of a switch. We must also support our athletes to ensure the success of Tokyo continues through Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028 and through to Brisbane 2032. Once again, Our Time Starts Now.

Our Olympians want to make a difference too. We have seen the inspiration they provided through the gloom of Covid. Across Tokyo and Beijing, Olympians energized and inspired young athletes and communities right across Queensland and our country.

That energy and inspiration is also taken into our schools with Olympians and prospective Olympians going into classrooms to talk with kids on the benefits of pursuing a personal passion, goal setting and overcoming obstacles.

This month in front of 50 school children on Thursday Island, the AOC's “Olympics Unleashed” program passed an important milestone with 250,000 students nationally now hearing directly from Olympians.

Reaching that mark on Thursday Island during NAIDOC Week was both a happy coincidence and an illustration of the AOC’s commitment to reconciliation through sport.

There have been 60 known Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Olympians. The group of 16 who travelled to Tokyo in 2021 was the biggest contingent of Indigenous Australians ever to represent their country at an Olympic Games.

In Tokyo last year, Patty Mills became the first Indigenous flag bearer. He unified and energised the entire Team in Tokyo and inspired Australians back home.

That moment and Patty’s Boomers winning their bronze medal was magical. That is the power of sport.

For the Australian Olympic Committee, success doesn’t revolve around the medal count at every Games. We celebrate the medals and we celebrate those magic moments like Cedric Dubler helping the courageous Ash Moloney win Australia’s first ever decathlon medal in Tokyo.

We want more Australians engaged and inspired to participate in sport and benefiting from that involvement. Our Olympic sports truly have something for everyone.

We want more children to find their way away from a screen, off a couch, inspired by an athlete’s journey to the Games.

To the AOC, that will be real success.

We can all start our journey now. The green and gold runway starts now. We can all “have a go” now. Our time starts now.