Gold Coast opening ceremony slammed by Sydney Olympics organiser Ric Birch
THE entertainment guru who masterminded the Sydney Olympics showpieces has slammed the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games opening ceremony as a glorified school concert.
Confidential
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SYDNEY Olympics ‘ringmaster’ Ric Birch has slammed the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games opening ceremony as a glorified school concert.
The entertainment guru who masterminded the Sydney Olympics opening and closing showpieces was one of several unsuccessful bidders for the rights to produce the Gold Coast spectacular, which were controversially handed to US-based consortium Jack Morton Worldwide.
Mr Birch declined an approach from The Courier-Mail to review the opening ceremony last week because he did not want any criticism to be seen as sour grapes and did not even watch it as he is travelling overseas.
However, he said the much-maligned opening had been the talk of the industry.
“What I have been told makes it sound like a school concert and given the role of Schoolies Week in the Gold Coast, perhaps that was the idea,” he said.
“Personally, when I’m planning a ceremony, I try to create truly important, memorable and symbolic sequences that act as the central core for the whole ceremony ... but nothing I’ve heard about GC2018 so far anyway, sounds as though the producers planned anything other than a parade of songs and singers with a kind of ‘Hit Parade’ choreography to represent the Gold Coast.
“I would have done things very differently.
“These big opportunities come along so rarely that organising committee members have no personal experience or knowledge of working with creative producers so they don’t always make good choices ... great pity if the ceremonies was one of those decisions.”
He also offered some cheeky advice for producers ahead of the closing ceremony on Sunday night.
“The opening ceremony is now remembered best for a bottom mooning the viewers, so the only way the closing ceremony could top that would be to have a topless moment,” he said.
“I’m sure Janet Jackson would lend the Gold Coast organisers a pre-tested wardrobe malfunction outfit for the ceremony.”
The opening ceremony divided viewers with some stunning visual effects and orchestral music offset by weird references to ‘aliens lying on cosmic beaches’ and the repeated appearances of Migaloo the white whale while official Games mascot Borobi was overlooked entirely.
There has also been extraordinary criticism of musical director Katie Noonan over the failure to secure big-name Aussie performers.
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