Stage One of Brisbane’s A$3.6 billion (US$2.4 billion) Queen’s Wharf precinct is slated to open at the end of this year, bolstering the city’s destination appeal ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

At the heart of Queen’s Wharf Brisbane is The Star Brisbane, comprising The Star’s own five-star hotel, The Star Grand, as well as Dorsett Brisbane and Australia’s first Rosewood hotel. The Star will also be home to one of the largest ballrooms in the city at 2,000m²; a 250m-long Sky Deck with restaurants and bars set 100m above the Brisbane River; and an open-air Leisure Deck, a 12,000m² mixed-use space with an expansive lawn, resort amenities and an Event Deck.

Rebecca Evans, marketing manager – tourism, business & major events at Brisbane Economic Development Agency, told TTGmice: “As the host city of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is only eight years away, there is a lot happening. We are getting ready for it now, (hence) there is a lot happening (in terms of) infrastructure. There are new hotel openings, new leisure experiences, new F&B openings, and we will continue to build on this into the future.”

Brisbane will also be getting a new metro train network, Evans added, as well as a new pedestrian bridge, which upon completion, will help Brisbane become “Australia’s most walkable city”.

The Neville Bonner pedestrian bridge will connect Queen’s Wharf Brisbane to South Bank’s cultural precinct, providing access to Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, and Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Once the precinct is complete, Queen’s Wharf will deliver an estimated 1,000 hotel rooms, more than 50 new F&B experiences, entertainment, luxury retail, public artworks, the restoration of nine heritage buildings, 1,500 residential apartments, and 12 football fields of public space in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD.

Expected to attract an estimated 1.4 million additional visitors each year, Queen’s Wharf is also the first development in Brisbane to be awarded the 6-Star Green Star Communities rating in recognition of its social, environmental, and economic sustainability designs.

Aside from new infrastructure, Evans shared: “At this point, Queensland’s immediate task is to build direct aviation routes back, as these are key to welcoming more international visitors back.”

“We’re also working closely with medical technology companies, health scientists and sporting associations to get them (to bring business events) up to Brisbane (in the lead up to the Olympics),” she added.