The grand unveiling was meant to happen in Brisbane on Monday. Instead, the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic emblems were accidentally leaked by the Games' own YouTube channel, which published the full design in the preview image for an "Emblem Explainer" video that wasn't supposed to go live until Monday morning. The video briefly appeared at about 7.30pm on Friday, three days ahead of schedule — and screenshots of the images and text were soon circulating on social media. The image has since been removed.
The video's description gave away the concept too. "The Brisbane 2032 emblems are inspired by the spirited cockatoo — a symbol of Australia's unique wildlife and playful heart! The cockatoo's crest is a living torch, reminiscent of the iconic Olympic and Paralympic flame," it reportedly read. "Shaped like Queensland, with its eye on Brisbane, the emblem is a universal symbol to unite Brisbane, Australia and the world in 2032."
According to AAP's report, the Olympic emblem is the crest of a pink cockatoo — an inland Australian bird — with its colour stylised to resemble an Olympic and Paralympic flame, while the Paralympic emblem will feature the more familiar yellow of the sulphur-crested cockatoo.
The slip undercut a carefully staged build-up. All week, pieces of the emblem had been revealed on a tour through Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast, with Olympic and Paralympic greats including Ian Thorpe, Grant Patterson, Anna Meares and Alexa Leary taking part. Guessing was actively encouraged — athletes floated everything from a crocodile's tail to a mango.
Olympics Minister Tim Mander chose to see the bright side, telling the Today show he was "excited" the emblem was "finally out". "The emblem is something that will make us known around the world with regard to the Games in 2032. We just want to celebrate it," he said. Asked whether the leak was planned, he wouldn't comment, instead crediting the public's enthusiasm: "Obviously there were people so enthusiastic about looking for the emblem that they'd been scanning the internet. It's appeared for a short time, and it's out there." The design, he said, "embodies the cheeky nature of the Queensland spirit".
Brisbane 2032 chief marketing officer Brent Hill admitted things hadn't gone to plan. "If we had our time over, maybe there's different ways that we could have done it," he said — while arguing the leak had generated incredible publicity. "The overarching piece from our side is still the fact that we wanted people to guess, we wanted the clues to be out there, and now it's out there. The reaction to it has been really positive."
Opposition leader Steven Miles welcomed the cockatoos but said organisers should own up to the blunder. "No doubt there will be a lot of questions asked about how this mistake was made so that they can avoid it again in the future," he said. "I know there was a lot of interest though, so Queenslanders will be excited that they got to see it sooner than they were meant to."
The show goes on regardless. The Brisbane 2032 emblems will be officially revealed in Brisbane on Monday, with a community unveiling that night — and Mr Hill has promised there is still much more to come. For a Games already wrestling with crocodiles on the rowing course, a cockatoo let out of the bag early may be the most forgivable surprise yet.