Opinion: Games organisers shouldn’t have told locals to stay away from Gold Coast

HOSTING the games in the entertainment mecca that is the Gold Coast, with beautiful beaches, top restaurants and bars and amazing attractions, the issue was not a lack of things to do but organisers told locals to stay away, writes Jonathon Moran.

• Games tourist boom still to come: Fraser

WHAT a wasted opportunity. How did Commonwealth Games organisers get it so wrong?

Hosting the games in the entertainment mecca that is the Gold Coast, with beautiful beaches, top restaurants and bars and amazing attractions, the issue was not a lack of things to do but that people weren’t told what was happening and organisers told locals to stay away.

In fact, locals were stupidly told to stay away. And as an interstate visitor, who was looking forward to lapping it all up with great expectations, I’m leaving supremely disappointed.

I was going for gold and feel my event was scratched. Where was the vibe?

A very empty Broadbeach during the Commonwealth Games. Picture: Alex Coppel

Hometown girl and one of the top female artists in the country at the moment, Amy Shark, performed on the free live stage at Broadbeach before the Opening Ceremony was played on the big screen.

It should have been a packed crowd and one of the highlights of the games calendar. Instead, punters only found out she was performing when they strolled by.

This was a theme throughout the games. Same goes for the awesome free Sparkle in the Sand concert with a sensational lineup that included Marcia Hines, Luke Antony, Alfie Arcurie, Kitty Glitter and Courtney Act.

When there should have been thousands enjoying the night, just a few hundred revellers enjoyed the show that would have cost organisers a fortune to put on.

Empty streets, normally packed with school holiday crowds, were a common feature of the Games. Picture: Alex Coppel

On Friday night, Regurgitator performed on the stage at Broadbeach. Who knew? Not many people it seemed.

During the day, and many nights, contemporary dancers did their thing. They were great but it was the wrong place and wrong time for that style of creative artistry.

The only people watching were the unfazed customers sipping a brew at Starbucks 50 metres away.

The staging alone would have cost upwards of $100,000. Why didn’t organisers set up a rotating roster of local artists to perform each hour, celebrating local talent, with a headliner each night. Why didn’t organisers market this fabulous party avenue.

Restaurants too were pretty much empty the whole way through the games. You could almost play a game of cricket inside.

Local traders have complained trade was basically the same as a normal week on the Gold Coast. Picture: Alex Coppel

Bars were mostly empty also with locals saying the weekend trade was about the same as normal when it should have been heaving.

I feel for the local businesses, who should have had a boon during the games.

Retailers too suffered. Department store Myer had initially planned to extend its hours to 9pm on Friday night but closed three hours early.

“It has been a fizzer,” a sales assistant told this scribe.

Woolworths in Broadbeach was supposed to open round the clock but wound back the clock to normal hours mid week.

Festival 2018 venue NightQuarter, perfectly positioned at the heavy meets light rail transit Helensvale transit hub, also closed for two nights this week despite its promise to open every night.

Not even the Gold Coast’s famous Meter Maids were welcome at the Games, but they showed up anyway. Picture: AFP

At the beach, Longines set up a marquee where the games official timekeeper hosted a number of events. But there could have been more going on down there. Where were all the other sponsors making the most of the extraordinary view and incredible opportunity to get their brand out there.

Locals rallied towards the end of the game after GOLDOC boss Peter Beattie’s embarrassing admission his team got it wrong by telling them to stay away but it was too late.

What did work was The Star’s Celebration Lawn, which provided the sort of fun party vibe I expected across the city.

Swimmer stars celebrate the end of their Commonwealth Games events at The Star, Gold Coast.

And what about the other local attractions? The Gold Coast’s famous theme parks barely registered a blip on the radar.

In fact, when this writer contacted both Sea World and Movie World to find out what they had planned during the games, the response was underwhelming.

They had nothing planned, or so they said. When the Potbelleez’ Johnny Sonic deejayed at Movie World for a foam party, the publicist didn’t know about it.

Dream World also had nothing to offer.

Surely a shot of our Aussie athletes riding a roller coaster would have been great promo.

What a wasted opportunity. What a shame.

Originally published as Opinion: Games organisers shouldn’t have told locals to stay away from Gold Coast