Social media pans Gold Coast Games promo
The curtain has come down on the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, but not before Australia sold itself to the world with the same enthusiasm as “a Herbal Essences advert on acid”.
There was a distinct Aussie flavour to the closing ceremony, as Scotland handed the baton to the 2018 Australia hosts.
A cheesy section spruiking the wonders of the Gold Coast led to social media users declaring they already hated the Queensland host city.
At one point a hologram car with the number plate GOLDCOAST reminded audiences of said city’s total awesomeness.
“This is like a Herbal Essences advert on acid,” one viewer tweeted.
Another cringed: “This looks like the pre-show at seaworld when they play a really cheesy song and video before the whale comes out.”
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The segment featured a seven-song set from Kylie Minogue, along with appearances from 100m hurdles gold medallist Sally Pearson and champion surfer Mick Fanning acting out an infomercial including a video montage of Australia’s natural wonders.
“The Gold Coast is my home and my inspiration – nothing beats it,” Fanning told the 36,000-strong crowd. “Anything is possible, even 300 days of sunshine every year.”
“This is like one of those North Korean propaganda videos: `Harvest yields in the Gold Coast have been up 400% this year’,” one viewer tweeted.
But it was Jessica Mauboy’s enthusiastic rendition of her Eurovision song, “I Believe – Anything Is Possible”, that had Twitter users believing anything was not, in fact, possible.
While Minogue drew praise for actually singing, Mauboy was criticised for apparently miming.
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“Kylie gets a gold medal for this. Jessica Mauboy will get a bronze for her miming,” tweeted one disapproving viewer.
Another wrote: “Anything Is Possible… even singing without moving your lips.”
Minogue’s compilation of finale songs such as “Spinning Around” and “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” saved the night for a throng of fans.
But the highlight for many was Australian athlete Genevieve LaCaze’s stage crash.
The steeplechase runner, who placed fifth in the 3000m event, took it upon herself to stand in for Minogue after the diva skipped off stage for a quick costume change.
The cheeky athlete placed herself in among the male dancers and waved an Australian flag over her head before she was escorted off stage.
The Commonwealth Games competition, featuring 17 different sports, saw more than 140 Commonwealth and several world records broken. England ultimately topped the table, with Australia, Canada and host nation Scotland following on with their medal hauls.
Commonwealth Games Federation president Prince Imran Tunku, of Malaysia, told the cheering closing ceremony crowd that Glasgow 2014 was “the best Games ever”.
In four years, the world will find out if the Gold Coast can go one better.
