In just a few years, the eyes of the world will be focused on Queensland as the spectacle of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games creates memorable moments for athletes, organisers, volunteers and spectators alike.
For athletes, the Games are a rare chance to excel on the world stage. Winning gold is more than the pinnacle of their careers – it can be a life-changing moment.
Could the Games be a memorable and life-changing moment for your business, too?
Opportunities for companies of all shapes and sizes
The Games procurement program spans infrastructure, venues, transport, technology, logistics and Games-time operations – creating a complex and highly competitive supply chain environment.
Whether you’re in construction, manufacturing, ICT or facilities management, the Brisbane Games marks a legacy-building, once-in-a-generation opportunity for many Queensland suppliers. Not only for the range and number of contracts on offer, but the publicity, prestige and future benefits that will flow from delivering on the world’s largest sporting stage.
Elite athletes will tell you that winning gold is the culmination of years of planning, preparation, commitment and investment. That’s what it takes to increase capability and push performance to a winning level.
And make no mistake – the competition is just as fierce in the Games procurement space. To date, 68 work packages have been released spanning nine categories, with 3288 Expressions of Interest (EOI) already submitted. In fact, one work package has attracted 757 EOI responses… for a single opportunity!* So if you think you’ll be competing against your usual local companies, it’s reality check time. As well as local interest, the Games EOIs are also attracting serious interstate and international interest.
What should suppliers be focused on right now?
With these increased levels of competition, winning Brisbane Games tenders will require much more than business as usual. Suppliers should already be monitoring procurement program timelines, tender release schedules, prequalification requirements and evaluation criteria carefully, as competition is intensifying quickly.
And when it comes to developing your bid, cutting and pasting from your most recent tender submission or relying on last minute heroics to get a compliant bid in the box won’t be enough. Just like the athletes, you’ll need to plan, prepare, commit and invest to reach new levels of capability, so you are ready to win.
Although the specific opportunity you have your eye on may not be released for months or even years, success will come to those who start their Brisbane Games tender campaign now. A look at the opportunities you’re targeting through the strategic lens of our Three Cs framework can help. Let’s look at how.
1. Competition – how will you outplay them?
Once you’ve identified your best fit tendering ‘events’, you’ll need to learn as much as you can about the competitive landscape. Who will you be lining up against? What is your competitive edge and what improvements will you need to make to best the other contenders? How will buyers discriminate you from them? Is it your experience, the cutting-edge technologies you bring to your services, or the legacy you’ll help create?
2. Customers – do you understand what they want?
You’ll want to understand what the judges’ (the tender evaluators) scorecards look like, their scoring process and what attributes they value most highly. How will you align your capabilities and proposed solution to this? Should you attempt to do more, or focus tightly and do it better?
It goes without saying that there’s a lot riding on the success of this event. Although buyers for the Brisbane Games will be seeking the best solutions from suppliers, they’ll also need to be 100% certain that the companies they choose to trust can and will deliver what they’ve promised. What runs do you have on the board to demonstrate this? Is your previous performance record fit and ready to be put into play?
3. Capability – who’s on your team?
So, you’ve got the solutions, the ability to deliver the required products/services and a clear track record of doing so. Sorry to tell you this, but earning a winner’s medal will take far more than a handy solution, a compliant bid and a sharp price. Are you trained in how to communicate your company’s offerings in a way that will persuade the judges to choose you over their other options?
Bidding professionals understand the specific techniques needed to build and present a compelling story that instils trust in evaluators. These techniques ensure evaluators are confident enough to decide “Yes, this is the company we choose to work with.” If you don’t have an in-house team trained in the art and science of tendering, the smart play is to secure specialised external support – and fast.
Your plan for winning Games contracts
BidWrite knows that a winning bid takes far more than writing. To compete, you must translate your business’s unique capabilities into clear, easily evaluated, trust-building bid responses that have a high probability of winning.
Suppliers that are capable of delivering safely, on time, and to the standard the Games demands, need to prepare early in order to give themselves the best chance of success.
To craft a winning tender submission, suppliers should consider four key foundations:
- Positioning – helping you understand the specific bidding landscape, supporting solution and strategy development, competitor analysis, and early customer engagement.
- Preparing – benchmarking, capability development (training, coaching, bid process development) and evidence-based collateral development (case studies, plans etc).
- Proposing – supporting bid strategy processes, project managing proposal development, persuasive writing/graphics support and final bid document production.
- Pitching – post-submission presentation development, training and coaching.
The opportunity for local suppliers to support such a major global event is rare. Whatever the sector or the size of your company, if you’re committed to winning Brisbane Games contracts, finding a tendering teammate who understands the scale and scrutiny involved will give you the best chance at placing first.
For BidWrite’s insights about winning Brisbane Games contracts and other tendering news and views, sign up to our free Bid Talk mailing list here.
*Source: Brisbane 2032 Supplier Portal as at 20 March 2026.
