Ridiculed Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies cost $191,000 a minute
In the days following Sunday night’s closing ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games there has been plenty of backlash and now, the true cost of the ceremony has been revealed.
The ridiculed ceremony, which went for four hours, worked out to a staggering cost of $191,000 a minute, reported the Courier Mail.
The US brand experience agency behind the ceremony, Jack Morton Worldwide, controversially won the $33.15 million contract over three of Australia’s best entertainment producers two years ago.
Last year, the company also received an extra $13 million.
Since the closing ceremony, the production company has refused to acknowledge their involvement in the debacle.
“We share Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation’s disappointment at the level of criticism targeted at specific aspects of last night’s performance,” Jack Morton said
Jack Morton’s head of public events, David Zolkwer, oversaw the opening and closing ceremonies as artistic director and project director, reported the Daily Telegraph.
Zolkwer was also in charge of the 2004 Olympic Games ceremonies and the last three Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Melbourne and Glasgow.
The backlash of the closing ceremony led to an apology from Games chief Peter Beattie on Monday.
Performers featured in the ceremony included Samantha Jade, Guy Sebastian, Anthony Calea, Ricki-Lee, The Veronicas, Delta Goodrem, Yothu Yindi and The Treaty Project, and Deborah Conway.
Some viewers criticised musical director Katie Noonan for making stars such as Dami Im and Kate Cebarano sing songs from other Aussie artists rather than their own hits.
In an interview on the Today show, Beattie took full responsibility for the lacklustre ceremony and admitted that he shouldn’t have made a speech as it was too boring.
Organisers were also criticised for not allowing athletes to enter the Gold Coast’s Carrara Stadium during the broadcast.
“The buck stops with me. I accept full responsibility for it. And as I said we were driven by the right reasons, Karl,” Beattie said.
“The other thing there were too many speeches. Think it was a mistake. I shouldn't have spoken - that I think bored athletes silly as well. One less speech from me would have helped.”
On social media the closing ceremony was described as an “Australia Idol reunion” and an “epic fail”, with many dumbfounded over how the athletes could have been left out.