Come on Brisbane – it’s time to limber up, so get your thinking caps on and go for Gold.
Brisbane 2032 Olympic chiefs have issued a global call for the best minds in advertising and brand management to come up with mascots and emblems which they hope will promote the River City to the rest of the world.
But who better to come up with an iconic Brisbane ambassador than the people of our great city itself?
One tongue and cheek suggestion which gained a lot of momentum soon after the starter’s gun sounded was the humble bin chicken, the ibis.
So you don’t think the somewhat dirty, always hungry and invade-your-personal-space ibis nomination won’t fly?
Then what about the iconic (for all the wrong reasons) Bufo marinus – also known as the cane toad and introduced to these shores from Hawaii in the 1930s to eradicate beetles in Queensland’s sugarcane crops.
Since its unfortunate arrival the unattractive amphibian has conducted its own gold-medal performance – having hopped, swum and hitch-hiked its way across state and territory borders.
And what about possums – the city seems to have a nocturnal army which loves nothing more than to put in an Olympic effort every night as they go running, jumping and screeching across rooftops and power lines when we’re all trying to get some shut eye.
And then there’s the kookaburra – you can’t laugh at that suggestion.
But even though it was way back at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, it’s going to be very hard to knock the iconic winking Matilda from the podium.
The near 13 metre Matilda had the crowd eating out of her pouch as she cruised around the track at QEII – thanks to a discreetly placed forklift.
The six tonne beauty, who is now enjoying her well-earned retirement at a Matilda Service Station near Gympie, could even give a wriggle and turn her head which in turn melted hearts all over the world.
So come on Brisbane – what are you waiting for?
What are your suggestions?
We’d love to hear them.
