AUSTRALIA’S bid to host World Youth Day 2008 moved a step closer on July 9.
A five-member team from Sydney, including Cardinal George Pell, Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher and NSW Minister for Tourism Sandra Nori travelled to Rome to officially submit Sydney’s bid to host the next World Youth Day.
The decision will be announced at the end of the final Mass at this year’s World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany.
Bishop Fisher said the Australian campaign had taken two years to prepare.
He said although Australia did not have an abundance of religious history, the team was proposing a theme of ‘Take up your cross and follow me’.
Bishop Fisher said Australia’s ability to attract big numbers of pilgrims was likely to be an issue, but the Sydney team was hoping to sway the argument by the diversity of participants it would be able to attract.
When it came to numbers likely to attend, Bishop Fisher said it was very difficult to anticipate.
He said previous gatherings had found the numbers predicted three years out from the event differed considerably from those who actually attended.
The NSW Government is supporting Sydney’s bid and has offered the Olympic Stadium at Homebush as a main venue if World Youth Day comes to the city.
