Wind, rain don’t deter big crowds
WILD winds and heavy rain didn’t stop Gold Coasters from ushering in the New Year in true Goldie style – by the beach.
Thousands of revellers packed on to the foreshore at Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach as fireworks lit up the sky at the family-friendly hour of 8pm and later at midnight.
Northern Gold Coasters celebrated at Paradise Point and the Broadwater Parklands while those down south hit the beach at Coolangatta.
Surfers Paradise Alliance CEO Mike Winlaw said more than 50,000 people packed into the precinct for the 8pm fireworks.
“We were really lucky the weather held off for us, I think the crowd is bigger than last year,” he said. “It’s absolutely wall-to-wall and there is usually an even bigger crowd for the midnight fireworks.”
Beaches across the city were packed throughout the day until mid-afternoon when the weather turned.
“Everyone has been really good, even here in Surfers Paradise,” Ken Lloyd of Queensland Surf Life Saving said.
“But we always have to do a few rescues later in the night when drunk people decide to go for a swim.
“We have a duty officer and a couple of guys standing by in case that happens.”
But it appears the rain did keep wild behaviour at bay across the city.
A police spokesman said
revellers were well-behaved, as we went to print, in the city’s major hubs at Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.
“Everyone is behaving, they all seem more concerned by the weather,” he said.
Queensland Ambulance Services and Fire Services were also standing by across the Gold Coast.
“We’re ready and waiting but nothing’s happening,” a QFES spokesman said. “Normally we have heaps of people complaining about neighbours having huge bonfires but tonight has been really quiet, likely because of the rain.”
Gold Coast nightspots were geared up to host a sellout – and weren’t phased by the early rain.
Members of the NRL Premiership-winning team the Melbourne Storm partied the
night away at Cocoon Lounge Bar in Surfers Paradise, while Tim Martin, general manager of Surfers Paradise nightclubs The Bedroom, Sin City and Hennessy, said often a bit of wet weather could work in their favour as it meant people planning a night on the beach or at Burleigh Hill would decide to “go out” instead.
VIP booths in both venues – adding up to 16 in total including two premium Sin City booths priced at $4000 each – were sold out.
They come with their own wait staff and he expected Hennessy private booths to have sold out by opening time last night.
“There are a lot of people up from Sydney and they are used to paying for that. It’s a better experience, especially at New Year’s,” Mr Martin said.