Golden opportunity to put on a great party squandered

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

Hosting the Games in the entertainment mecca with its 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.

As an interstate visitor, who was looking forward to lapping it all up with great expectations, I’m leaving supremely disappointed. Where was the vibe? 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 line-up 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.

Regurgitator performed on the stage at Broadbeach on Friday night. 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 customers sipping a brew at Starbucks 50m 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.

Bars were too, with locals saying the weekend trade was about the same as normal. 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.

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

Locals rallied towards the end of the Games 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.

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

What a wasted opportunity. What a shame.