Even so, the reaction has been predictable. Their appears to be little public goodwill to fork out money for elite sport, even if it means better returns at the Olympics. And if the taxpayers and ratepayers would baulk at a relatively minor investment, on the grand scale of things, what would they make of a bid to host the Games? The good news for residents of Sydney and Melbourne is they have little reason to worry. Their fair cities, despite putting on wonderful Games in the past, are never likely to play host again, unless the International Olympic Committee changes its parameters. IOC rules stipulate the Games must be held in July-August, the northern hemisphere summer. Barring a sudden rush of development in Darwin, Broome or Cairns, that leaves Brisbane and the Gold Coast as the only possible future destinations for another Australian Games, due to weather concerns in the southern capitals. Special moment: Cathy Freeman lights the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony for the Sydney Games. Credit:AP The south Queensland region is the subject of a feasibility study to see if a bid for the 2032 Games would make any sense, from an infrastructure point of view and financially. Actually, it never makes sense from a financial point of view. A bid alone could cost in excess of $100 million.

In that case, the question must be asked: Will Australia, which loves to think of itself as a proud Olympic nation, ever host another Games? Judging by the enormous backlash to the development of new stadiums in Sydney, the appetite for tipping public funds into the sporting purse seems meagre, at best. A bid for a Brisbane Games was given fresh legs after the success of April's Commonwealth Games, which were delivered under budget and with no white elephants left to mope around for the next 20 years. But the Olympics are another universe entirely, an immense undertaking that would need every local, state and federal resource, and a few kitchen sinks to be hurled in unison if the greatest show on Earth was to return to our shores. The plus for Australia, as a potential venue, is the attitude to hosting the Games has surely changed since Rio, where a nation that couldn't afford the largesse and luxury of hosting was left bereft, while stadiums and venues were left to rot on the vine once it all came to an end.

Final act?: Kurt Fearnley brings the Australian flag into the Olympic Stadium for the closing ceremony in Sydney. Will this be the last Australia sees of the Games? Credit:AAP Los Angeles, which will host the 2028 Games, will exclusively use existing venues, something that will become a template for future bids in western democracies. A south-east Queensland bid would partly meet those requirements, but major infrastructure spending would still be required, including a main stadium. AOC president John Coates told this column a Queensland bid for the Games was a genuine chance of succeeding, but the city would need to loosen the purse strings in coming years to be a contender with Germany, Indonesia and India also likely to offer a bid. "They're working through the feasibility," Coates said. "It's got legs ... but it needs a big infrastructure spend. And that's by the Brisbane City Council. Around Brisbane, they need to do a lot of work just for their own population to get to work within 30 minutes. There needs to be faster trains, similar to what they are doing in Victoria now. "We would not touch it if there was not progress well before the commitment date. If there is, it's got real legs, because the IOC trusts us. We've run two very good Games. And it's the only city in Australia that can host the Games, because they now have to be in July-August. The rules now are July.