“Come for the Games, stay for the culture.” That simple call to action sums up the essence, and the ambition, captured in a timely report from Creative Brisbane Collab.

The report, A million cups of tea: how we’ll create cultural legacies from 2032, was launched this week at one of Brisbane’s iconic cultural assets, Brisbane Powerhouse. The Creative Brisbane Collab. is an initiative to bring the corporate and creative sectors together as a single voice to articulate and advocate on behalf of creativity as a driving force in city life and economy.

The report is the result of a almost year-long process of discussion and consultation. This Creative Brisbane Collab. report presents the experiences of people who deliver art, culture and creativity every day and captures their aspirations for cultural legacies associated with the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

About 140 launch attendees heard from keynote speaker Lucy O’Driscoll, Hassell managing principal and sector leader – sports and culture. Hassell is one of two architecture firms recently appointed to design the stadium for the Brisbane 2032 Games.

Ms O’Driscoll was joined in a panel discussion with eminent Brisbane creatives, including Ebony Bott, artistic director of Brisbane Festival; Stephanie Dower, producer, access coordinator and CEO of Dower Productions and a disability inclusion advocate; and Dr Bianca Beetson, associate professor at Griffith University and executive director, First Nations at Queensland Museum.

The Collab.’s report identifies Seven Principles for Cultural Legacy Success – accessible, achievable and ambitious goals nominated by Brisbane’s creative and corporate communities:

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Principle 1: Nothing about us without us

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Cultural legacies should be identified, informed and led by the communities who deliver art, cultural and creative experiences on the ground – in co-design partnerships with relevant agencies and organisations. Creatives must be inside the decision-making.

Principle 2. Turn on all the lights

Regenerate and activate existing assets, as well as ensure that ongoing cultural use and activation is a required outcome for Games-related infrastructure.

Principle 3: There’s nothing ‘nice’ about creativity

Art, culture and creativity are not “nice to have”, they are critical to the health and wellbeing and economic sustainability of cities and towns.

Principle 4: Keep it real, keep it Queensland

Use Queensland art and culture – and Queenslanders – to deliver the authentic experiences for visitors and watchers for the 2032 Games, all the while building a treasure-chest of Queensland stories and experiences to last beyond 2032.

Principle 5: Extending time – from the sunshine to the night lights

Develop the policies and practices to enable and grow safe night-time economies in Queensland cities and towns, relevant to the local community.

Principle 6: Sport, meet art

Connect art and culture with everything associated with the Games, particularly the sport, but start practising now with the big sporting events Brisbane hosts every year and those coming over the next few years.

Principle 7: We’ll take your measure

The measurement of legacy progress and outcomes is critical: endeavours should be measurable and reportable. And it should start now.

Creative Brisbane Collab. has now launched Phase Two of the project, nto turn the Seven Principles for Cultural Legacy Success into Action Plans that will be published towards the end of 2026.

Creative Brisbane Collab. acknowledges Ethan Kingston Wiradjuri who spoke about “a million cups of tea” at the mid-2025 cultural legacies workshop and graciously permitted the use of the term for the report.

Barton Green is chair of the Creative Brisbane Collab., which unites Brisbane’s corporate and creative sectors to drive influence, advocacy and leadership for the city’s cultural future and champions creativity as essential to economic growth, community wellbeing and global visibility. 

View the report at creativebrisbane.com.au