Commonwealth Games 2018: Chairman Peter Beattie admits 'We got it wrong'

Andrew Lucas

•
Commonwealth Games 2018: Chairman Peter Beattie admits 'We got it wrong' image

Commonwealth Games chairman Peter Beattie admits the organising committee got it wrong at the 2018 closing ceremony on Sunday evening.

In a sensational mistake by organisers, the big finale turned into a shambles, taking the shine off a successful Commonwealth Games for the hosts.

It got off to a horrendous start when Channel Seven elected to broadcast the end of My Kitchen Rules rather than showing the Aussie athletes walking out.

It didn't help that Carrara Stadium wasn't even close to being filled with a host of empty seats remaining; at one point volunteers were on standby to fill those empty seats.

MORE: Commonwealth Games 2018: Closing ceremony slammed by viewers | Commonwealth Games 2018: Channel 7 commentator Johanna Griggs savages organisers after closing ceremony debacle

The boss of the 2018 Commonwealth Games organising committee took to Twitter on Monday to express his regret at how the closing ceremony went down.

"We wanted athletes to be part of and enjoy the Closing Ceremony. However, having them come in to the stadium in the pre show meant the TV audience were not able to see the athletes enter the stadium, alongside flag bearers. We got that wrong," Mr Beattie admitted on Twitter.

"We were driven by the welfare of athletes."




But that didn't cut it for the media with reporters turning on Commonwealth Games organisers following their dramatic failure.

Sunrise's David Koch called Mr Beattie out over the excuse of considering the "welfare of athletes," with previous closing ceremonies always featuring the athletes.

“(The closing ceremony) was put together by some arty farty entertainment organiser who doesn’t know what the Games is all about," Koch said.

Even hosts of the closing ceremony Johanna Griggs and Basil Zempilas were critical of how the closing ceremony went down during Channel Seven's coverage of the event.

“I’m furious. Actually, wrecking a tradition that is so important,’’ Griggs said.

“You want to see the athletes come in. You want to see them jumping in front of camera.”

“The organising committee together with the host broadcasters just didn’t get it right. It was a mistake.

“We missed out on that, I tell you, they’ve been repaid, there are no athletes in here and I’ve never seen the stadium so empty.”

Inexplicably, after being elected flag bearer at the closing ceremony, para-sports gold medallist Kurt Fearnley barely featured on our screens, despite it being the moment that all Aussies were waiting for following his T54 marathon victory.

Closing ceremony viewers took to Twitter to vent their frustrations over the finale to the Games.





It was a successful Commonwealth Games for Australia as they finished with 80 gold medals, 59 silver and 59 bronze and broke five Games' records.

However, the closing ceremony will forever go down as a shocking error of judgement, putting a dampener on a successful 12 days of competition.

Surely Birmingham 2022 will learn from our mistake in the finale.

Andrew Lucas

Andrew Lucas Photo