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Trevor Connell spoke to Jill Keyte, Senior Events Manager for the Olympic Coordination Authority
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Jill Keyte launching the Olympic Live sites
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For Jill Keyte the night of the Opening of the Olympic Games must have brought both a sigh of relief and a moment of anxiety.
The much-anticipated Games were beginning after months of planning and yet hundreds of thousands more people than anticipated descended on the city centre to watch the Opening Night celebrations on the big screens.
The previous night more than 400,000 people had crammed along city arteries to catch a glimpse of the most successful Olympic Torch Relay in history. Observers believe that it was the success of that event which spurred people towards spending Opening Night at one of the Olympic Live sites.
Without doubt the most crowded of those Live Sites was Martin Place, although Circular Quay, Pyrmont Bay Park, Tumbalong Park and Belmore Park were all busy. The Domain, which was the site closest to Martin Place, did not operate on Opening Night. It had been operating the previous evening and despite public notice that the area would not be operating on opening night, there has been speculation that this caused the gross over-crowding at Martin Place.
In response to why the Domain was closed for opening Night, Ms Keyte said “the RBG (Royal Botanic Gardens) needed to give the Domain a rest between events”.
“We were quite overwhelmed by how popular the city was right from the beginning. We thought that it would be quiet the first week and then build up during the second week,” she said.
After the first night success of the sites, the OCA reviewed the program and wherever possible made changes to cater for the larger than expected crowds. “We had no idea of what the success of the sites would be – we set maximum numbers at the start of the Games, but every site exceeded our expectations,” Ms Keyte said. More than 100,000 people joined in the daily partying, with more than 1.5 million people having visited a site by the closing of the Games.
But it was not just the numbers that numbed the organizers – they were also amazed at what the public wanted to experience. “We were surprised that people stayed to watch Roy and HG. It took a couple of days for the public to catch on to what the pair were about, but then by the end of the Games we still had 2,000 people watching the big screens at 1 am,” Ms Keyte said.
Reflecting on the success of the live sites and her other major areas of jurisdiction – the Opera House lighting project, the Sydney Skyline Spectacular and the Closing Night Harbour Spectacular, Ms Keyte said the proof of a job well done could be seen on the faces of the party goers. “We realized that we had touched the hearts of Sydneysiders and that was hugely satisfying.”
With her core team of 20 staff that swelled to more than 700 during the Games , Ms Keyte managed more than 300 performances and events. “It was very fulfilling, but the highlight for me was the Torch Relay. To be at the Opera House and see the lighting of the sails and then the rings on the Bridge light up, and finally the concert at the Domain, it was wonderful and a huge success,” she said.
The Torch Relay arrival was a joint effort between the OCA and the City of Sydney – as were the Live Sites, with input from other Government agencies such as the Botanic Gardens and the Opera House.
“OCA used the Torch as a vehicle to launch its entertainment program,” Ms Keyte said. The program included live performances appropriate to a theme at each live site – Circular Quay had a circus theme, Martin Place started off with a club theme which was subsequently scaled back, Belmore Park had J-Gigs from Triple J to entertain youth and then Jazz, Tumbalong Park was world music and the Domain was the centre stage where seven major concerts coincided with major Olympic events. At each venue almost every performer was Australian!
“The purpose of the live sites was to create a dynamism in the city. Each was located on a major transport route, had a large screen showing Channel 7’s coverage, live entertainment, food and beverage outlets and an information stand,” Ms Keyte said.
The searchlights that formed part of the City Skyline Spectacular created a dancing light show in the night sky. “It was a beckoning tool to say come and party in the city” – and as such it could not have been more successful.
The OCA Live Sites were, in fact, so successful that the IOC are investigating making them part of the Transfer of Knowledge program to show future Olympic host cities how to enthuse and excite their residents and visitors.
And the infrastructure developed to ensure that the live sites, and the Games, ran to plan is the greatest legacy the Olympics will leave for Australia, according to Ms Keyte. “The infrastructure will allow other international events to be held in Sydney,” she said.
But the human factor is a God-sent gift as well, she said. “If Australians can keep up this feeling of generosity, with greater understanding for the part played by volunteers and workers, then we’ve achieved much more than just hosting the Games.”
Live Sites Photos |
