An easy fix

One disastrous event should not have sparked calls for the end of Spit concerts

The Spit’s Doug Jennings Park has hosted events for decades to great acclaim. Who could forget the many wonderful music festivals of the 1990s and 2000s which attracted huge crowds and strong reviews.

Its reputation and large open space led it to secure 10 bookings for major events just in this calendar year. It should continue as a venue option for gigs including the Magic Millions polo.

But its ability to host events came into question earlier this month when the Fred Again gig led to chaos. More than 31,500 people descended on the area, with the buses organised to ferry patrons to it proving inadequate. It drew a bigger crowd than the Suns or Titans season openers, both played the same afternoon and evening. The economic benefits are not in question.

The gridlock and lack of buses saw hundreds ride hire bikes to Main Beach and The Spit where they were left abandoned on the footpaths causing havoc. There’s no sugar coating it – it was a disaster, a failure of planning and logistics.

From a reputation point of view alone, these scenes are not something which can be repeated. That said, calls for all events to be abandoned there are a step too far and something authorities have wisely ignored. Everyone is well aware of the traffic issues The Spit. They’ve been around for years. It is worth noting the community group which called for large scale events at Doug Jennings Park to be banned also led the fight to stop the light rail being extended through Tedder Ave and up The Spit, a transport connection which surely would have mitigated some of the issues our city faces today. Not only that the leader of that group has just been roundly criticised by a judge in a city council bid to shut down a chopper operator.

To the credit of Gold Coast leaders, they and events organisers held meetings after the Fred Again gig and worked out solutions to ensure easier transport of people in and out of the area.

We saw the results of this over the weekend where the Souled Out event attracted more than 18,000 people.

It goes to show with good planning to address issues, they can be solved without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

We cannot afford this.