Australia’s Olympic opportunity in Asia and the Pacific

Australia’s remarkable performance at the Paris Olympics has been the subject of much writing and commentary in recent days. The ‘Gold Medal Factory’—a nickname for the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS)—delivered an impressive medal haul, much to the delight of athletes, government ministers, and Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) officials. These two institutions are key components of a massive, complex, multi-billion-dollar sporting ecosystem distinguished by world-class athletes, stadiums, coaches, and sports management programs.

These programs, systems, and strategies are significant soft power assets, attracting athletes, teams, governments, businesses, and major events. The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2022, the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups in 2027 and 2029, and the Summer Olympic Games in 2032 are part of a ‘green and gold decade’ of mega sporting events that offer immense public diplomacy opportunities for the government to project 'Brand Australia' to billions worldwide.

However, the most visible and powerful assets in the sport diplomacy universe are the athletes themselves—diplomats in tracksuits who project a fit, sunny, and healthy image of Australia. Today’s athletes are more than just sportspeople; they are authentic, charming, and influential communicators, embodying the mythical 'power of sport' in the words of Nelson Mandela. Sport, and those who play it, transcend politics through words and actions—silent gestures, as we call them. If you haven’t seen it, the best example from Paris was Afghan refugee breaker Manizha’s brilliant 'Free Afghan Women' protest.

To harness these sporting assets and their 'power,' the Australian government employs sports diplomacy and development officers, programs, and strategies. PacificAus Sports is an example of a program making an impact worldwide. In Paris, for instance, in partnership with the AOC and the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC), the program provided support for more than 230 Pacific Islands athletes as they strived to qualify for the Olympic Games. While sports diplomacy often targets the elite level, sport-for-development programs like Team Up focus on local communities across the Indo-Pacific region.

Earlier this year, Australia’s foreign and sports ministers announced plans to reinvest in our sports diplomacy and development strategies. Aiming to make Australia 'stronger and more influential through sport,' the Albanese government announced updates to the strategy, the formation of a new Sports Diplomacy Consultative Group—coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)—and the establishment of an annual roundtable discussion to bring together the worlds of sport and diplomacy.

With eight years to go until Brisbane 2032, and thinking beyond the new sports diplomacy strategy, how can we sharpen our edge in this niche space?

First, we should move away from outdated twentieth-century terms and ideas like 'soft power.' There is nothing 'soft' about power. Whether it involves coercion, co-option, or attraction, 'soft power' is a Western concept coined by a Harvard University professor, and it doesn’t resonate with the foreign publics Australia and its allies are trying to engage. Effective diplomacy requires listening, empathy, influence, grace, and compassion—not positioning athletes as agents of state power, which many of them find uncomfortable.

Second, let us also fully embrace and celebrate Indigenous culture in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Games. While it was encouraging to see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander iconography on the Paris team uniforms, only eleven out of the 460 athletes sent to Paris were Indigenous. Remember that First Nations people have been playing sport in Australia for tens of thousands of years. As natural athletes—excelling in running, throwing, and endurance sports, for example—it’s crucial that First Nations people, programs, and sports are integrated into development programs and preparations for the Brisbane Olympics, not just added as an afterthought.

Third, and relatedly, if Australia wants to win the battle for hearts and minds across the Pacific, it might need to review its language, discourse, and tactics. Sport holds different meanings for Pacific Islanders. For Westerners, sport often revolves around fitness, competition, winning, or increasingly, entertainment. In contrast, Pacific athletes tend to associate sport with family, inclusion, spirituality, and community. As the government is currently pondering, do catchy labels like the 'green and gold decade' truly foster a sense of inclusion and Pacific regionalism? What do the Pacific Islands need in terms of sport? Is it more programs like PacificAus Sports, or would strategies and programs that are designed, implemented, and evaluated in collaboration with Pacific governments, communities, and sports organisations be more effective?

Fourth, it is equally important to include and engage our other closest neighbours—the ten countries that make up ASEAN. It is unlikely that a Southeast Asian country will host the Olympics anytime soon; Brisbane 2032 should be as much the Asian Games as it is the Pacific Games. This means among other things using the Games to promote our multicultural heritage, especially our rich Asian diaspora, and seeking sports partnerships with the region. ASEAN is ripe for significant bilateral trade and sport presents both commercial and diplomatic opportunities. Australia’s expertise in sports diplomacy, development, management, performance, technology, business, and mega-events are valuable, world-class commodities that others greatly desire. This expertise can support the region’s development of a sports industry and its capacity to host future international events.

It's important to remember that China also builds stadiums, integrates sport into its overseas aid program, and invites international teams, coaches, and athletes to train. During the 2023 Pacific Games, for example, they gifted a $74 million stadium and used the event to amplify their brand, narrative, and position as a partner of choice for 'safeguarding sovereignty, security, and development interests.' Reflecting broader geopolitical trends, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and North Korea also engage in sports diplomacy. Just as geopolitics is no longer dominated by the Western liberal international order, sport too has become a global arena for influence.

Australia’s reinvestment in sports diplomacy is both timely and necessary. While we can't outbuild China in infrastructure, we hold a comparative advantage in sports diplomacy and development. The current global security environment is characterised by 'strategic atrophy,' great power rivalries are back, and the Indo-Pacific region has emerged as a key theatre for geopolitical competition.

Hearts, minds, bodies, wallets, athletes, stadia, and sports knowledge are all up for grabs by any means possible. When engaged respectfully, sport can be a powerful diplomatic tool that breaks down stereotypes, transcends conflicts, and amplifies a state’s message, culture, and values. Leveraging existing systems, sports diplomacy is typically low-risk, low-cost, and high-profile. Sport also generates informal opportunities that can eventually translate into formal relationships, policy initiatives, and trade outcomes.

Over the past two decades, Australia has led the world in the innovative use of sport as a tool for diplomacy and development. While others are catching up, there’s no need to worry. The emerging security environment presents precisely the kind of competitive situation in which our sportspeople and diplomats excel!

Stuart Murray is associate professor in international relations and diplomacy at Bond University.

Image: Olympics.com.au