Kyle and Jackie O’s Brighton ‘ball drop’ stunt given green light

The radio show has been granted 11th-hour approval to hold a divisive stunt involving foam balls at a Brighton tennis club.

KIIS FM breakfast radio hosts Jackie O Henderson and Kyle Sandilands.

Kyle and Jackie O’s controversial radio show has been granted 11th-hour approval to hold a divisive “ball drop” stunt at a Brighton tennis club.

KIIS FM was given the green light from the peak government aviation body for a helicopter to drop 200 balls at Elsternwick Park Tennis Centre on Friday.

The competition, slated to take place between 6am and 9am, will see 100 people run onto the court and grab two flying balls.

The balls will be labelled with a winning amount valued up to $100,000.

The Herald Sun understands the tennis club has received dozens of complaints from locals with many fearing members of the public could sustain serious injuries.

Kyle and Jackie O were granted approval to host the stunt despite locals fearing members of the public could be injured.

On Thursday, a Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesperson confirmed the application had been approved, just 15 hours before the competition was scheduled to run.

“The application to conduct the event has been approved after the operator demonstrated it could meet the aviation safety requirements,” they said.

But Elsternwick resident Lucy Ellen told the Herald Sun it was a “lawsuit waiting to happen”.

“I am majorly concerned that it might hurt an elderly person,” she said.

“It’s literally a lawsuit waiting to happen … if a person’s property gets damaged by the careless act from a ball.”

The balls will be dropped at Elsternwick Park Tennis Centre.

Despite ARN, the parent company of KIIS, advertising the use of tennis balls, residents were told the stunt would go ahead with foam balls.

“As part of this event, an aircraft will drop foam balls onto the tennis courts in a controlled and carefully managed manner,” they said in a letter to residents.

“ARN has completed thorough safety and risk assessments to ensure the wellbeing of everyone involved, including but not limited to: residents, event attendees and our staff.

“We’re committed to being respectful of the local area and minimising any disruptions.

“Thank you for your understanding and support as we bring some fun to Elsternwick!”

The letter comes as KIIS FM ran advertisements for the competition all week, despite not having adequate approval.

The Kyle and Jackie O show held a similar competition in Sydney in 2017.