MEGA-PARTY OUT OF TUNE
A LARGE, two-day beach concert that a promoter wants to stage along most of Coolangatta’s beachfront cannot be taken seriously, surely.
The plan, apparently, is to set up stages at either end – near the Coolangatta Surf Life Saving Club and near Greenmount – with a third midway.
Not only that, but the local chamber of commerce has been told the SandTunes event over November 30-December 1 would blow out to 26 days of disruption while the stages and equipment are set up and then dismantled.
And the word is the organiser wants Marine Pde blocked off so buses have their own lane to transport potentially tens of thousands of music fans from park’n’ride stations elsewhere on the Gold Coast.
Assuming the information the chamber and local councillor have is on the money – and we stress this office made multiple calls to the promoter, TEG Dainty, with no response – this is a ridiculous proposal, particularly since it could cut off an iconic beach and cause traffic issues in the heart of the southern Gold Coast’s family friendly resort town just as the peak holiday season is getting into full swing.
And for what benefit? Of course the potential 70,000 people who might attend across the two days of concerts would have a good time. The bands, DJs and promoter would enjoy a pre-Christmas bonus.
But there is a big question whether traders would see a return for disruption, since it is not clear whether passouts would be issued to allow patrons to leave the precinct for meals and shopping.
The critical issue however is the impact on tourists who have already booked or are intending to book holiday accommodation along Marine Pde. The bulk of them will come with children. How would they react if they were to arrive to find barricades stopping them from walking directly to the beach from their units? Beach access is the whole point of their holiday. How would they handle the noise from two days of concerts and partying?
Coolangatta locals are not silly. They understand the value of festivals like their successful Cooly Rocks On. But such events do not shut off the beach. Not even the World Surf League round on the Gold Coast does that. In the push to commercialise some of the city’s beaches, it must be kept in mind that they are for everyone.
Cr Gail O’Neill is right. There are too many unanswered questions and we are already halfway through June.