Australian flag-bearer Kurt Fearnley doesn’t want closing ceremony debacle to overshadow Commonwealth Games

AUSTRALIAN flag-bearer Kurt Fearnley says the Commonwealth Games organisers got it wrong by snubbing of athletes at the closing ceremony but doesn’t want it to overshadow the success of the event.

Athletes were brought in for the closing ceremony before it had begun.

AUSTRALIAN flag-bearer Kurt Fearnley says the Commonwealth Games organisers got it wrong by snubbing of athletes at the closing ceremony but doesn’t want it to overshadow the success of the event.

Kearnley, who won a gold medal in his last international competition race, was named the Aussie flag-bearer for the ceremony after his stunning finale.

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Seen as a quintessential Australian sporting hero, Fearnley was the overwhelming choice to carry the nation’s flag and a popular choice amongst fans.

Viewers were outraged on Sunday night that Fearnley was denied the full experience of carrying the flag in front of a home crowd and athletes not given the acknowledgment they deserve as they entered the arena before the ceremony officially began and no footage of their arrival went to air.

Kurt Fearnley carries the Australian flag.

Fearnely said organisers of the closing ceremony did get it wrong but he’s not dwelling on it.

“It was a bit of a strange old experience but there’s been a lot of people blowing up on social media and if you’ve had anything to do with my journey, I’m not one to blow up at those things,” he told SEN.

“I love my sport and I’m sure there are plenty of athletes and parents of athletes from all around the commonwealth who would have wanted to have seen their guys come into the stadium.

Please remember that @GC2018 has been the most inclusive event that our nation has ever hosted. We can’t let anything distract from that. We did something special on the Gold Coast & it was one of the best weeks of my life. The team, crowds, staff & volunteers nailed it. #kudos

— Kurt Fearnley (@kurtfearnley) April 16, 2018

“I heard Peter Beattie say that they did get it wrong, and yeah they did, but all the people out there blowing up, I know you’re doing it out of kindness and respect for myself and the athletes but I will blow up when it’s needed.

“I will blow up when it’s needed, I will fight and I will engage when there are real solid circumstances to blow up — when people with wheelchairs are getting kicked off our airlines, when we’re getting kicked out for being fire hazards, when we’re not getting access to education.

“When there are issues I will fire up and I will grab everyone along with me.

“But right now we have just finished the best and most inclusive Games we have ever had.

“Let’s just move on, let’s just reflect and remember the Games as the absolute success it was and the closing ceremony was just a moment of that.”

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Commonwealth Games chairman Peter Beattie admitted on Monday morning organisers had “got it wrong”.

“We were concerned about athletes’ welfare, one of the problems of course is when you’ve got thousands of athletes, where do you put them?” he told Channel 7.

“They have competed, they are exhausted, the last thing they want is to stand in a field for an hour waiting to get into a closing ceremony.

“But we made a mistake.

“The athletes came in as part of the pre-show, Kurt came in with the flag but that wasn’t shared with viewers. That was clearly a stuff up.

“I’m sorry. If I get a chance I’ll apologise to Kurt.”

Australian basketballer Angus Brandt revealed athletes had no idea what was going on at the closing ceremony before finally realising they had been brought in before the event began.

The ceremony has been slammed for snubbing the athletes and denying them the recognition for their achievements during the 11 days of competition.

Australian basketballer says he was left disappointed by the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.

Brandt, who was part of the Boomers’ gold medal-winning team, attended his first closing ceremony on Sunday night and was left underwhelmed by the experience.

“I did go. It was a little disappointing with the athletes being brought in before the actual ceremony began,” he said.

“It sort of felt like we were left out a little bit.

“It was a shame that the flag-bearer wasn’t recognised.

“We were looking forward to being part of the closing ceremony and being recognised for what we’ve done at the games and we sort of walked in there and we weren’t really sure what was happening and then realised that we’d been brought in before the broadcast had begun.”

The failure to appropriately acknowledge the athletes was slammed by Channel 7 broadcasters Johanna Griggs, a 1990 swimming Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, and Basil Zempilas, while viewers also vented their frustration on social media.

Commonwealth Games chairman Peter Beattie admitted in the aftermath of the event, which saw most of the athletes leave before the ceremony had finished, that it was a “stuff up” and organisers “got it wrong.”

He said the welfare of the athletes was behind the decision as “the last thing they want is to stand in a field for an hour waiting to get into the closing ceremony.”

Athletes were brought in for the closing ceremony before it had begun.

Brandt said that shouldn’t be a consideration given athletes have already competed.

“I think either way they were going to do it, there was going to be quite a bit of standing around,” he told Channel 7. “But I think at this point at the Games, standing around really isn’t the biggest concern given all the athletes had taken part in their events and they’ve competed.”

Swimmer Cam McEvoy, who was an ambassador for the Gold Coast Games, said he enjoyed himself at the ceremony.

“Personally, everyone just gets together. No one had any sporting obligations so we’re together for the first time and we just run into anyone we can and start chatting about whatever,” he told Fox Sports News.

“I didn’t even hear the closing ceremony was what it was this morning when I got here.”

Originally published as Australian flag-bearer Kurt Fearnley doesn’t want closing ceremony debacle to overshadow Commonwealth Games