Gold Coast Schoolies organisers prepare for 20k-strong teenage stampede for Surfers Paradise
Schoolies organisers are bracing for up to 20,000 teenage revellers to descend on the Gold Coast this weekend, despite mass cancellations from shut-out interstate graduates.
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SCHOOLIES organisers are bracing for up to 20,000 teenagers to hit Surfers Paradise this weekend, despite mass cancellations from shut-out interstate graduates.
Festival volunteers Rosie’s and Drug ARM say they are preparing resources to meet pre-pandemic levels, and would have around 95 staff on the streets right across the week.
“Both locally and regionally, we are anticipating solid visitor numbers,” Rosie’s CEO Jayne Shallcross said.
She said volunteers would support school leavers at recharge zones, where partying teens could drop in for a rest and keep hydrated.
“Some volunteers come out for just one night or will work the whole week.
“The most important thing is for us to give a helping hand wherever possible and offer a safe space for Schoolies students.”
Schoolies is normally heavily supported by Year 12 graduates making the pilgrimage from Sydney and Melbourne. However, with the Queensland border not expected to open properly until December 17, they have been shut out.
Their exemption was expected to have a telling effect on Schoolies numbers this year. However, Schoolies.com CEO Matt Lloyd said the Gold Coast was still the “number one destination for the festival” and booking levels are in-line with 2019 numbers.
Established in 1987, Rosie’s has long been a Schoolies institution, looking out for the welfare of school leavers visiting and staying in the Surfers Paradise precinct.
Drug ARM clinical and service development manager Richard Norman said the organisation was well prepared for the festival opening day on Saturday.
“All of our volunteers have undergone training and are orientated toward what takes place here at Schoolies and how to offer the best means of support,” he said.
While Drug ARM’s primary mode of community support is drug and alcohol related, its presence at Schoolies would simply create a “safe space” for schoolies students, Mr Norman said.
“We won’t be providing drug and alcohol education per se but would always emphasise the message that there’s no such thing as safe drug use.
“But obviously if we see someone in trouble we will do everything we can to support them in seeing they get the help they need.
“People can come to our recharge zone and have a chat, refresh and take a time out for as long as they need.”
Mr Norman said a total of 35 volunteers would be stepping in to support the festival this year.
More Coverage
Originally published as Gold Coast Schoolies organisers prepare for 20k-strong teenage stampede for Surfers Paradise
Revealed: Aged care crisis behind Miami tragedy
Like an elderly Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy played out in our own fair city that lays bare our ailing aged care system. While major reform is due, it can’t come soon enough
School evacuated after ‘bomb’ threat
An elite school on the Qld-NSW border has been evacuated after a “bomb” threat, causing panicked parents to slam the incident as “not funny, not clever – and not entertainment”.