Updated April 08, 2018 14:27:35
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games chairman Peter Beattie is urging people to come to the Gold Coast, as some local businesses complain the city is a "ghost town". Mr Beattie said people who may have stayed away in fear of traffic chaos should not be scared to make the trip down the M1. He said crowds were building and patrons should spread their business throughout the city. "Some restaurants are incredibly over-booked and some are under-booked," Mr Beattie said. "People are in restaurants the issue is I think probably not being shared universally. "Naturally the campaign we ran about getting people off the M1 worked we didn't want people on the M1 because we all know the M1 is a bit of a dog, so the last thing we wanted was people on it. "We wanted them on public transport the locals know exactly what I'm talking about here I'm not going to hide what it is." Mr Beattie said thousands were using public transport to get to Games events. "At the end of it people have got on public transport 61,000 people yesterday," he said. "What we need to do is say there is capacity, even on the road." Business 'pretty quiet, pretty tough' ![]() Broadbeach shoe shop owner Grayson Pearse said he was disappointed at how quiet business has been. "It's not as good as we'd like it's been pretty quiet, pretty tough," he said. Mr Pearse said he did not think Commonwealth Games Corporation's plea for people to visit the Coast would help foot traffic. "People have made their decisions and I just think they haven't got the time now to come down here," he said. "It's a bit of a wash-out so hopefully next week is better than it has been, but time will tell." Plenty of parking for restaurants, bars Mr Beattie said there was plenty of parking on the Gold Coast to access local businesses. "I'll get into trouble for saying that but you can get here, you can get parks," Mr Beattie said. "Get into the local restaurants, get into the local bars. "So if you're in Brisbane and you're worried, come down, there's plenty of space. "If you left because you were worried about it, you made a mistake come back." Broadbeach salon owner Ronda Russell said the message was getting out that people should not be scared to go to the shops. "The first four days have been really quite slow and I'm surprised the roads were so quiet," Ms Russell said. ![]() "But now it's starting to warm up and starting to get more people in cars and I think people know they can come out and have fun I think this next week is going to be much busier." 'Easy to get around the Gold Coast' Ashleigh Marshall is visiting from Canberra for the Games, and said crowds were starting to pick up. "It's definitely been very easy to get around the Gold Coast the last couple of days," she said. "Certainly it seems traffic has been a lot slower than usual." ![]() She said she thought a lot of locals had taken the time to go and do other things during Queensland's school holidays. "But there are still a lot of people getting to the events so that's been good," she said. "Out on the streets it is only the first few days, so maybe it has been a little bit flat, but I think today on the weekend there's a few more people about enjoying the Gold Coast." Andrew Paterson drove his two children Hamish, 10, and Rennah, 12, to the Gold Coast from Brisbane on Saturday and said transport had been easy so far. "There's definitely been some scare-mongering about getting down here," Mr Paterson said. "We were worried we got down here an hour earlier than we thought we needed to because of the traffic, but it was easy to get down." Mr Paterson said his advice to other Brisbane residents was to make the journey. "Get down here, it's great. Beautiful weather, plenty of events to go to. Go Gold Coast." ![]() First posted April 08, 2018 13:50:01 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-08/commonwealth-games-ghost-town-gold-coast/9631136
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Posted April 07, 2018 06:19:34
![]() Collecting memorabilia has emerged as an unlikely sport among spectators at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. External Link:Facebook Royal Australian Mint Plush toys of official mascot Borobi and collectible coins from the Royal Australian Mint are some of the hottest items. The Mint also made the Games gold, silver and bronze medals. The $1 coin released by the Mint has people lining up outside the Commonwealth Games Broadbeach Superstore, where memorabilia is sold. Katrina Warren was among the crowd waiting outside before the doors opened to get hers. "There are only a thousand [coins] going out per day," she said. "Once they have sold out there are no more to get and they have the special mint mark, which makes them pretty valuable." It's not just the coin that has people lining up. Lucy and Peter Scott from Penrith in Sydney's west have been to several Commonwealth Games and their home is brimming with knick-knacks to prove it. "Peter has a slight collection of hats from these things," Ms Scott said. "We've got our t-shirts from the Melbourne Games in 2006 and we'll have our t-shirts from here now." ![]() Jan Brown has collected memorabilia from all six Commonwealth Games she has attended. At the Gold Coast games her haul is a stuffed toy of Borobi the event's mascot. "It brings back memories of the time, when you look at them," she said. "I bought Matilda at the Brisbane games in 1982 and that was the first games I ever came to and she was spectacular." ![]() http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-07/borobi-merchandise-and-coins-popular-at-commonwealth-games/9627760 Updated April 06, 2018 07:48:12
![]() Cathy Freeman didn't just star at the Sydney Olympics. She created the expectation each subsequent home games would provide a single event that distilled the spirit of the occasion into a magical moment. It's called yes, OK, not a lot of time went into this the Cathy Freeman Moment. This was not the moment(s) at the Sydney 2000 opening ceremony when Freeman stood waiting for the cauldron to ignite for so long several polar ice caps melted. At Gold Coast 2018, Peter Beattie did his best to recreate that pregnant pause while trying to extract the Queen's message from the baton during the (surprisingly adequate) opening ceremony. So long did Mr Beattie take to work out his thumb was in the way, it would have been quicker for Her Majesty to send a carrier pigeon. No, the Cathy Freeman Moment was the one where she endured the crushing expectation of an entire nation by winning the 400 metres. ![]() In so doing, Freeman gave the Sydney Olympics a moment so richly symbolic some still believe they shouldn't swing the wrecking balls at the misconfigured venue out of respect for her achievement. At the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the Cathy Freeman Moment was spontaneous rather than anticipated 38-year-old mother-of-three Kerryn McCann winning the marathon before a packed MCG an achievement even more poignant after her breast cancer diagnosis the following year. So, who will provide the Cathy Freeman Moment at Gold Coast 2018? No-brainer. Sally Pearson reprises her 2017 World Championship performance before a home crowd and celebrates in that typically unbridled fashion. ![]() OK, it wouldn't be anything like the real, nation-stopping Cathy Freeman Moment. The Commonwealth Games is struggling to maintain a toehold in the sporting consciousness and the symbolism of Freeman's vast achievement in the most taxing circumstances was made even more poignant by her Indigenous heritage. (Incidentally, sadly, symbolism is pretty much all Freeman's moment provided, because as a Gold Coast 2018 opening ceremony replete with well-meaning Indigenous symbolism demonstrated, long after Freeman's glorious lap, there remains a jarring disconnection between the celebration of white and Indigenous Australia on such occasions.) Still, Pearson seemed like the ideal showstopper right up until the moment it was announced the star hurdler had an Achilles injury that would allow her only to perform ceremonial duties with Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. Sorry, this video has expired Video: Sally Pearson speaks at a press conference to confirm her withdrawal from the Games. (Photo: James Maasdorp](ABC News) Cue the understandable cynicism of the international media who wondered whether the announcement of Pearson's injury had been delayed as long as possible to cushion the blow the poster girl's absence would have from the event. And, undoubtedly, Pearson's role as the final bearer of the Queen's Baton at the opening ceremony would have seemed somewhat less engaging if we had known as Pearson had for at least 24 hours she would not competing. ![]() When in doubt, head to the pool where Australia continues to dominate even in the era when English lottery money means the home team's stranglehold on the medal tally has been weakened. Cate Campbell's quest to win the 100 metres final is the first stop on the road to redemption after the disappointment of Rio. ![]() Like Pearson, she is a home state favourite. She also competes in a blue riband event and, unlike many at these games, faces a world-class opponent in Canada's Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak. Freeman did not have to face her greatest rival because Marie-Jose Perec took flight and abandoned the Olympics. Although, rather than being unfairly vilified as the Frenchwoman was, Oleksiak will be the source of considerable sympathy given her grandmother died on the eve of the games. And if Campbell's main swim does not prove Freemanesque? Perhaps several swims could be melted into a single moment and make Emma McKeon's chlorine-scented medal accumulation the centrepiece of Gold Coast 2018. After the opening night, McKeon already has a gold medal as part of a world-record-breaking 4x100m relay team alongside Campbell. Although, on the downside, McKeon and teammate Ariarne Titmus forced the commentators to use their "no, really, the Australian not winning is great!" voices when they were mauled by the Canadian Taylor Ruck in the 400m individual medley. ![]() At a time when the "kultcha" of Australian team sport is under the microscope, it might be fitting that a team rather than an individual provides the crowning moment on the Gold Coast. In that regard, in combining high aspirations and cutting-edge techniques with a progressive team ethos, the Australian netballers now make Steve Smith's (former) team look pub. That the Australians are unbackable favourites to beat arch-rival New Zealand in the final assuming the somewhat-shaky Silver Ferns make it says something about the increased professionalism of the game here and might vindicate the decision to form a separate national league. ![]() But it says even more about the team's transformation from an outfit that relied heavily on its individual talent to one with a winning yes culture that should be studied and replicated by other national teams of either gender. In that regard, coach Lisa Alexander's undisguised admiration for the All Blacks provides a certain irony to her team's recent dominance of the Silver Ferns. An elite women's team demonstrating that, for all the continued disparity in pay and exposure, it can set standards male teams must follow? Now that's a Cathy Freeman Moment. Topics:sport,commonwealth-games,carrara-4211,qld,australia First posted April 06, 2018 06:04:14 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-06/who-will-provide-the-commonwealth-games-cathy-freeman-moment/9624448 Updated April 05, 2018 13:02:35
![]() Former Northern Territory youth detainee Dylan Voller and two other protesters have been charged after trying to enter Carrara Stadium during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. Mr Voller, 20, and two Queensland women, aged 21 and 30, were part of a larger group protesting last night in the car park outside the Carrara Stadium for Indigenous rights. Mr Voller came to national attention in 2016 when he was shown tied to a restraint chair in a Four Corners episode on youth detention in the Northern Territory. The episode resulted in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announcing a royal commission into the detention of children in the NT. Police said during the protests the three had attempted to "gain unauthorised entry into the venue". Video footage shot of the incident showed a group, some draped in Indigenous flags, which could be heard chanting "no justice, no games". Police blocked the group from entering the venue, and are seen pushing some protesters. In a statement, Queensland police said it "respects the right of people to protest lawfully and peacefully in Queensland but will not tolerate disruptive behaviour during the Commonwealth Games and associated events". ![]() The trio have each been charged with one count of public nuisance and are expected to front South Port Magistrates Court at a later date. Gold Coast Commonwealth Games chair Peter Beattie said he was committed to their right to protest, but the organising committee had set a benchmark for dealing with the Indigenous people. "I think as an organisation we've demonstrated our seriousness and genuineness about engaging with Indigenous people," Mr Beattie said. "If people have got genuine grievances they have a right to go out and demonstrate them. "I didn't feel like it was a slap in the face. I just want to make certain at the end of the day that they were treated with respect, but they also saw what we were trying to do about reconciliation." Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the protests would not tarnish the opening ceremony. "You know one thing about in this Indigenous culture I always pay respect and acknowledge elders past and present, specifically the Yagambeh people," he said. "And when there's other Indigenous people that comes out from other parts of Australia I respect that too, but at the same time they must ask permission of our elders here in our city. "Guess who I listen to, I listen to the people who've been here for 20,000 plus years, they have voiced their opinion, put it there and now enjoy the games as everyone else." "If anything, Australia is a democracy, you have a right to protest and so as I say, message received, now if anyone else belly-aching about something else, let me know." Yesterday a group of Indigenous rights activists blocked the path of the Commonwealth Games baton, forcing organisers to change the relay's route. ![]() First posted April 05, 2018 07:15:17 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-05/commonwealth-games-opening-ceremony-protesters-charged-scuffle/9620686 Updated April 03, 2018 16:12:27
Channel Nine has been heavily criticised by officials and banned from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games until after Wednesday night's opening ceremony, because they breached strict broadcasting conditions. The network's media accreditation was suspended after they aired behind-the scenes footage of Saturday night's confidential opening ceremony dress rehearsal. The Commonwealth Games opens on Wednesday night, with organisers anticipating a global audience of 1.5 billion people. Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation chief executive Mark Peters said the suspension would be reviewed on Wednesday and organisers would decide whether to lift the ban on Thursday. He said 16,000 volunteers and spectators had respected the media blackout at the rehearsal, but Channel Nine chose to air footage shot on a mobile phone on their 6:00pm news on Sunday night. "That's not what dignity's about, that's not what trust is about, and it broke our news access rules," he said. "There has to be a consequence, the same way there's a consequence for athletes and officials there needs to be accountability in the media." Mr Peters said the ban had received "absolute support" from volunteers. Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg said organisers were deeply disappointed in Nine's decision to broadcast the material. "The impact of this investment only works if we all work together," he said. "When people are given privilege to come in and watch an event and they break the rules with that, that's not high performance that's infringing on the spirit which these Games really represent." A Nine spokeswoman said the network had not been formally notified about when or if the ban would be lifted. In a statement, Channel Nine said it made an "error" in its Sunday night news broadcast. "We are in discussions with the Commonwealth Games authorities to restore our accreditation and hope to have the situation resolved ASAP," it read. GOLDOC Chairman Peter Beattie said Channel Nine had breached their trust. "My only concern was one for the audience and viewers," he said. "We wanted to make sure that we all kept the secret ... [because] we don't want the audience to be disappointed, and we don't want our international audience to be disappointed. "The Commonwealth Games are very much judged by the opening ceremony, because if it gets off to a good start it sets the tone for the games." Mr Beattie said suspending the network's access was merely an appropriate measure to "save the surprise". "We're in correspondence with Nine, we'll resolve this in a sensible way and move on but we will move to protect the opening ceremony where appropriate," he said. Topics:arts-and-entertainment,television,commonwealth-games-organising-committee,commonwealth-games,southport-4215,brisbane-4000 First posted April 03, 2018 14:18:13 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-03/channel-9-lose-commonwealth-games-accreditation/9613384 |
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