Fury after athletes airbrushed out of closing ceremony
QUEENSLAND Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has ripped into those responsible for last night’s closing ceremony. It comes after Commonwealth Games chairman Peter Beattie admitted organisers “got it wrong”.
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QUEENSLAND Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has ripped into those responsible for the decision not to televise the arrival of athletes at last night’s closing ceremony, saying they should “hang their head in shame”.
Australia’s team, led by inspirational para-sports legend Kurt Fearnley, barely got a look-in during the ceremony, which featured a medley of songs by mid-level Aussie artists.
“I’m just as disappointed as anyone else,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Fearnley’s response to ceremony shocker
“I’ve been talking to families that were there as well and Kate Jones (Commonwealth Games Minister) also shares that view. We wanted to stand there and celebrate our athletes and it didn’t happen.
“Whoever was responsible for making that decision (not incorporating athletes march in to the televised ceremony) should hang their head in shame.
Not being inside the #ClosingCeremony I thought the show had ended judging by the stream of people leaving. Apparently not pic.twitter.com/nWaCMD2Kd1
— Lachlan Kennedy (@lachlan_kennedy) April 15, 2018
The rights to produce the Gold Coast opening and closing ceremony showpieces was handed to US-based consortium Jack Morton Worldwide.
David Zolkwer was ceremonies director. Katie Noonan was musical director.
Ms Palaszczuk’s comments come after Games chairman Peter Beattie apologised for breaking tradition by not televising the arrival of athletes to the closing ceremony, admitting it was a “stuff-up” and that “we got it wrong”.
Mr Beattie appeared on Sunrise this morning, where host David Koch questioned how he managed to stuff up the finale of what was an incredible Games.
“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?” Mr Beattie said.
READ: TRANSCRIPT OF CHANNEL 7 HOSTS’ SPRAY ON AIR
“They have competed, they are exhausted, the last thing they want is to stand in a field for an hour waiting to get into the closing ceremony.
“But we made a mistake.”
But his “athletes’ welfare” excuse didn’t win over Koche, who said his explanation “did not wash” and pointed out that past closing ceremonies included the athletes’ arrival.
Kochie said the athletes were the “star of the show” and the closing ceremony was put together by some “arty, farty entertainment organiser who doesn’t know what the Games is all about”.
To this, Mr Beattie said he was not placing the blame of the stuff up on anyone but himself.
“Kochie in the long-run you could have a blame game going on from now until eternity, the reality is I’m chairman of the organising committee, the buck stops with us, I’m not interested in blaming anyone else.
“That’s our fault, that’s my fault and we accept responsibility.”
Mr Beattie told the ABC today that he would personally apologise to flag bearer Kurt Fearnley over the stuff-up.
He told Channel Nine: “We made a really serious error of judgment in not having them as part of the broadcast.”
He described it as a “stupid mistake”.
“We were driven by the right reasons ... but we stuffed up in that they should have been included in the online broadcast and they weren’t.”
Mr Beattie’s appearance on TV and radiofollowed a mountain of backlash over the closing ceremony, including Channel Seven sensationally turning on Games organisers during last night’s live broadcast over the decision to not allow the broadcast of athletes entering the stadium.
Livid Channel 7 hosts Johanna Griggs and Basil Zempilas last night savaged the spectacle, saying they were outraged the athletes entry to the stadium was not part of the show.
Thousands of spectators and even athletes left Carrara Stadium early and a ‘furious’ Griggs, apologised.
“I’m furious. Actually, wrecking a tradition that is so important,’’ Griggs said.
“You want to see the athletes come in. You want to see them jumping in front of camera.
“The organising committee together with the host broadcasters just didn’t get it right. It was a mistake.
“We missed out on that, I tell you, they’ve been repaid, there are no athletes in here and I’ve never seen the stadium so empty.”
Mr Beattie took to Twitter earlier this morning to respond to the criticism.
Closing Ceremony; we wanted athletes to be part of and enjoy the Closing Ceremony. However, having them come in to the stadium in the pre show meant the TV audience were not able to see the athletes enter the stadium, alongside flag bearers. We got that wrong.#gc2018
— Peter Beattie (@SmartState1) April 15, 2018
This decision to bring the athletes into the stadium before the broadcast was operationally driven given there were restrictions on being able to keep the athletes waiting in comfort. We were driven by the welfare of athletes #gc2018
— Peter Beattie (@SmartState1) April 15, 2018
“We wanted athletes to be part of and enjoy the Closing Ceremony. However, having them come in to the stadium in the pre show meant the TV audience were not able to see the athletes enter the stadium, alongside flag bearers. We got that wrong,” he said.
Just minutes later he said the decision to have athletes enter the stadium before the broadcast was driven by “the welfare of the athletes”.
Mr Beattie also earlier tweeted that the speeches were too long and that there were too many speeches.
The speeches were too many and too long. I was part of that and I acknowledge it. Again, we got that wrong.#gc2018
— Peter Beattie (@SmartState1) April 15, 2018
He told Channel Nine this morning that his speech “bored athletes silly”.
On the matter of the speeches, Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has today defended Annastacia Palaszczuk, whose speech has been slammed as “self-indulgent”.
“People are entitled to have their view but I think the heads of organisations and the head of our state, all of whom who funded, organised and delivered these spectacular games had a right to get up and be part of that closing ceremony,” she said.
“I share the views of most Queenslanders, I think that I would have preferred to see the athletes play a much more central role in the closing ceremony, after all these games were all about the athletes and all of their sporting endeavours over the past two weeks.”
Ms Trad did not answer questions about Commonwealth Games Chairman Peter Beattie’s role in the ceremony, instead saying she “welcomed” his remarks this morning, taking blame for the misjudgement.
“I think it is a very good lesson learned, breaking with tradition I think without letting people know about it was a bit of a shock I think,” she said.
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington hit out against the Government, saying she fears the event would be remembered for the wrong reasons.
“Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to grow up and take responsibility for this fiasco. The Premier appointed Peter Beattie, the Premier demanded to speak at the closing ceremony, why didn’t she demand the athletes be involved?” she said.
“If the Premier is looking for someone to hang their head in shame then she only needs to look in the mirror.”
Ten years since they were first floated and 12 days after they began, the Gold Coast Games reached the finish line in a closing ceremony starring the likes of Guy Sebastian, Dami Im, The Veronicas, Amy Shark and Yothu Yindi.
It followed a dramatic and emotional last day of competition in which retiring para-sports legend Fearnley won his last wheelchair marathon, England sensationally pipped Australia for netball gold and organisers had to defend long delays in getting help for Scottish marathoner Callum Hawkins after his sickening collapse near the finish line.
Australia easily topped the medal tally, bagging 198 medals (including 80 golds) in its second-best Commonwealth Games performance after the 2006 Melbourne Games where it won 222 medals.
After a sellout opening ceremony, thousands of empty seats were a disappointing sight at last night’s closing ceremony which saw cameo appearances by a dancing retired track superstar Usain Bolt and Games cult figure Borobi.
Volunteers were even on standby to help fill empty seats at Carrara Stadium and Aussie athletes left the ceremony early and hit the bar. Youth performers fittingly took centre stage as the Coast and Queensland looked to a bold new future in the wake of the state’s biggest-ever event.
They included 12-year-old Gold Coast schoolboy Max Deffenti who opened the show, teenage slam poet Solli Raphael and young dancers the Brat Pack Tappers.
ARIA-award winning homegrown Gold Coast star Shark teamed up with indigenous music great Archie Roach for the ceremony’s musical opener, Let Love Rule, backed by the two youth choirs and disabled performers from the Restless Dance Theatre.
The Coast’s ‘everyday heroes’, from lifeguards to firefighters, were honoured on stage in a musical tribute performed by Ricki-Lee Coulter, who also starred in the opening ceremony, and Anthony Callea along with the Brat Pack.
Barber shop singers The Blenders along with Yothu Yindi, who performed their biggest hit Treaty, also sang the praises of the ‘everyday heroes’ who helped make the Games a success.
The 15,500 Games volunteers, dubbed ‘Games shapers’ were also honoured, bathing in the well-deserved spotlight as Guy Sebastian performed.
“A beautiful bunch of people have put their hearts and souls into making these Games amazing,” Sebastian said.
Bolt, who partied all week at notorious Surfers Paradise club Sin City, danced in front of a DJ deck. Borobi, a glaring omission from the opening ceremony, bopped on stage beside Bolt.
Games chairman Peter Beattie told the crowd the Games had made ‘beautiful history’ as the first to have equal medals for men and women, an inclusive para-sports program and an Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who was snubbed for a speaking role at the opening ceremony, said the Games may be ending ‘but what we have seen is the beginning of Queensland’s golden age’.
“What can we say, except how good was that?” she said. “Nothing can stop us now.”
Ms Martin, the Commonwealth Games Federation president, had earlier said the stunning success of the Coast Games showed an Olympics was ‘definitely doable’ for Queensland. “What has been shown here has proved that nothing is impossible,” she said.
Last night, Ms Martin said nine world and 91 Commonwealth Games records had been broken, and five Commonwealth nations had won their first medals, at the Coast Games.
“What a Games these have been,” she said.
“Gold Coast, you have delivered a sporting and cultural spectacle that the entire Commonwealth can be proud of.”
Birmingham also had a starring role in the closing ceremony, with performances inside the stadium by the likes of Brit rapper Lady Sanity flashing to Victoria Square in Birmingham for a live performance by the Birmingham Royal Ballet and People’s Orchestra.
Birmingham officials had earlier admitted the Gold Coast would be a hard act to follow.
“You have set an incredibly high hurdle for us to clear,” West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said.
Female performers had the longest time in the spotlight last night in a nod to the focus on equality at the Gold Coast Games — the first to feature equal numbers of medals for women and men. As well as Shark’s solo, pop veteran Kate Ceberano joined The Veronicas, Dami Im, Samantha Jade, Thandi Phoenix, Kira Puru and Emma Donovan in a 45-minute segment dubbed ‘Sisters’.
Ceremonies musical director Katie Noonan, accused by critics of injecting herself into opening ceremony, had an encore performance in the celebration of female Aussie music icons from Olivia Newton-John to the The Divinyls’ Chrissie Amphlett.
Deborah Conway was due to perform her hit It’s Only The Beginning but pulled out sick, leaving Ceberano to sing the number.
Commonwealth Games Minister Kate Jones last night said: “We expected the athletes would be the focus as is the tradition at closing ceremonies.”
A senior government source said Mr Beattie had ‘a lot of explaining to do’.
It is understood his speech ran well over the allotted time.
Mr Beattie also leads the subcommittee for the ceremonies and signed off on the spectacle, sources said.
Games Minister Kate Jones said she shared the disappointment of the public that a celebration of the athletes was not at the forefront of the ceremony.
“I share the feeling of Australia,” she said. “It should have been a celebration of the athletes.”
Channel Seven co-host Zempilas also attacked the speeches at the event as self-indulgent and suggested they drove the athletes away.
“To be brutally honest, most of the athletes left during the ceremony.
“The speeches were way too long and, dare I say it, a little self indulgent.”
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