A bold new Vision - Sydney's Beating Green Heart

Few urban parklands in Australia are endowed with the potential of Sydney Olympic Park.

It’s a suburb that benefits from scale, CBD proximity and national significance, all of which have played an important role in its evolution since hosting the 2000 Olympic Games. As the 640-hectare site continues to evolve into thriving neighbourhoods, it will reconnect with its Wangal roots and natural assets to provide a meaningful connection to Country.

This Vision & Strategy serves as a roadmap that will inform decision-making for the next three decades of its life, guiding Sydney Olympic Park Authority and its partners to deliver on the ambitious 2050 Vision to transform the Park into a place that is a home, workplace and playground for thousands of Sydneysiders.


Vision

In 2050, Sydney Olympic Park will be a highly-connected series of diverse neighbourhoods and experiences. Many will live and work in this multi-faceted suburb, others will visit – for events, for its diverse attractions or for everyday retail and neighbourhood needs. Sydney Olympic Park’s diverse communities will each experience the Park differently. It’s what makes it a complex and thriving place.


What we Heard

A compelling vision is one that reflects collective ambitions, that is why the development of the Sydney Olympic Park 2050 Vision and Strategy has been engagement-led.

Community and stakeholder consultation was undertaken between September 2021 and November 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns and risk mitigation measures meant that many of the engagement activities and events that were originally intended to be done in-person and at Sydney Olympic Park were held online session. One event – the visioning workshop – was held in-person at Sydney Olympic Park, and brought together a diverse range of Sydney Olympic Park’s stakeholders to discuss opportunities for future directions.

The following eleven key themes emerged throughout the community and stakeholder engagement:

  • Caring for Country
  • Connection
  • Protecting ecological and natural values
  • World-class exemplar for sustainability, innovation and education
  • Meeting the needs of growing communities
  • Activating a welcoming place for people
  • A place for sport, from community to elite
  • Arts and cultural participation and production
  • Live, work and play
  • Destination tourism
  • An appropriate governance model for the future.

Read the Engagement Summary and Full Engagement Report for more information.


Paradigm Shift

The realisation of this vision for Sydney Olympic Park in 2050 requires a series of paradigm shifts in how it is thought of as a place, how it is planned for into the future and the step change in how it operates today.


Key Moves and Strategic Directions

Five Key Moves and ten Strategic Directions will serve as linchpins for Sydney Olympic Park’s transition towards becoming Sydney’s beating green heart. With a 30-year horizon, the transformation of the suburb will be realised through both short and long term actions.


Have your say

Our vision for Sydney Olympic Park is shaped from the deep conversations and engagement with the community. We would like to keep hearing from you on your thoughts on Sydney Olympic Park and the new Vision to be Sydney's Beating Green Heart by:

  • Dropping a marker on the map to share a story, tell us what you love or suggest an idea for the future
  • Take the Community Feedback Survey to share your thoughts on the new Vision and Strategy

To share your thoughts and ideas, you would need to join and create an account or sign in if you already have an account.


Please use the "Follow" button at the top of this page if you wish to be kept informed about project updates.

The place vision and strategy will provide a roadmap to guide the development of Master Plan 2050 and future developments. It will also inspire and drive other important outcomes for Sydney Olympic Park today, tomorrow, and well beyond 2050. Our plan will include public spaces designed for all and that are activated each and every day, spaces and buildings that are well management and cared for. The place vision and strategy will focus on ensuring positive social impact and sustainable economic development.

Sydney Olympic Park is on Wangal Land and is a suburb located in the City of Parramatta Local Government Area, at the heart of the Central River City.

For 70,000 years Sydney Olympic Park has been an important ceremonial gathering space, bringing people together. The D’harawal, Dharug, Gaimariagal, Wangal and other peoples of the Eora nations all hold stories of ceremonial gatherings and connection to the area now known as Sydney Olympic Park.

Sydney Olympic Park has evolved over thousands of years, with a rich history starting with our First Nations communities to more recent colonial, naval and industrial eras and, of course, the pre- and post- Olympic era.

This is still a place for greater connection for people across Sydney: A place to connect to country, to nature, to commerce and to connect with each other locally, regionally and globally.

With confirmation that there will be a Sydney Metro station located at Sydney Olympic Park in the next decade and a planned light rail route to improve connections, the possibilities for the future of the suburb are significantly enhanced.

This Vision & Strategy has been developed in a highly collaborative way.

Connection with Country has been foundational and deeply influenced the development of the Vision & Strategy – Country shaped the process of creating the vision and is embedded as a priority in the intent of all aspects of the Vision, including directions, actions and moves.

The development of the Vision was also engagement-led - it has been co-created with hundreds of stakeholders, residents, workers, visitors, businesses, community and sporting organisations and Government representatives, drawing from deep conversations and rich insights gathered through the engagement process.reflecting the collective views, concerns and ambitions of Sydney Olympic Park’s diverse communities and stakeholders.

Our aim was to:

  • capture the views of a diverse range of community and stakeholders, including First Nations peoples and culturally diverse communities,
  • learn from, and build on, previous engagement and knowledge,
  • engage in an inclusive, easy, relevant, timely and meaningful way, in alignment with “An Engaged Community”, Sydney Olympic Park Authority’s engagement framework,
  • understand the character and identity of the place, learning from stories from 70,000 years ago to now,
  • co-create shared values, vision and principles for a strategic framework for the suburb to 2050, and
  • collaborate on ideas and test future scenarios.

The following information was available throughout the Sydney Olympic Park 2050 engagement project and provides the context for the development of the new Sydney Olympic Park 2050 Vision and Strategy and, ultimately, the new Master Plan 2050 which is currently in development.

SGS Economics and Planning and Cred Consulting have been appointed by Sydney Olympic Park Authority to co-create the new Place Vision and Strategy with community and stakeholders. The team are supported by subject matter experts SJB, UTS, Yerrabingin and Atelier Ten.

Have your say

We invite you to be a part of developing a vision for Sydney Olympic Park to 2050 that unlocks the true identity of this special place.

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