2006 mardi gras
Crowd numbers -
200,000 people
disappear!
On Saturday evening 4 March at 11 pm the
media were reporting that there were 500,000 people at the 2006 mardi gras
parade.
This in itself was not a surprise since the mardi gras organisers had
been stating for months that there would be “half a million Sydneysiders at the
event”. Over the years they have tended to predict the expected number and then
report that that many people attended.
On the day of the parade and early evening the media were
repeating the mardi gras organisers' estimate that 500,000 were gathering for
the parade. Some reports said the organisers' figure was 450,000 people.
Then the reports saying that this was indeed the number
were printed online by 11 pm that night.
BUT by Sunday the figure was
being quoted as 300,000 people.
An amazing article in the Sydney Morning Herald
reported on the reasons behind the change.
When SMH asked a Mardi Gras spokesman yesterday why overnight
they had REDUCED their crowd estimate from 500,000 DOWN
to 300,000, "Scott Gillespie, assured the Herald the 300,000 figure was
accurate, because organisers were using a new internationally recognised system
of crowd-counting - "something to do with so many heads per square mile or
something", he said. But he was unable to provide further information, nor find
anyone else who could do so."
What was that? We don't know
how we arrived at that figure but be assured it is accurate!! Heads per sq mile
in a 35 metre wide street!! What a bad joke!!
Interestingly, the NSW police
stated yesterday that "Our estimates have always been very different to [the
organisers'] numbers."
Then why did they endorse them for so many years until
we started asking questions. Where is their credibility?
What is the reason for the change
in the figure overnight?
The real reason is that the media were confronted about the
accuracy of the figure – we sent all the media another email (having previously
sent a press release) challenging them about their reports and giving them an
analysis of how to calculate crowd numbers.
We have known all along that they were NOT accurate -
Click here to see our
pictures of 2002 and see if you can spot 31+ rows of people on each side of the
parade that year.
NO? Oh dear, where could they have gone? Of course, they
were never there, but that is the number of rows needed on EACH side of the
parade to give a total of 300,000 people.
The parade route is 1,600mt long - assuming a
very tight 3 people per metre =
4,800 people per row. 300,000 divided by 4,800 =
62 rows. (2 people per metre is more realistic but that would mean
even more rows!)
Homosexual journalist Adam Carr used the above formula in
2002 and stated there were between 60,000 and 75,000 people at mardi gras.
Click here for his
article.
References:
Gay
pride fairytale hits Sydney
SMH, 4 March, 2006
This article
written on 4 March says there were 500,000. Some reports say this is the
organisers’ figure.
Some reports quote the
organisers’ figure at 450,000....
Reuters quoted this figure in the following
article - it is no longer online.
Australia
celebrates gay and lesbian Mardi Gras
Newsweek, Reuters. 4 March 2006.
By Sunday / Monday the
organisers’ crowd figure had been revised DOWN to 300,000 people.
Mardi
Gras winner
AAP, March 06, 2006
POLICE say they were pleasantly surprised at the behaviour of
around 300,000 people who lined the streets for
Sydney
's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
parade….”
And this is the revealing article
from the Sydney Morning Herald on the change to the crowd
figures....
A
fairytale ending to the night before
SMH, 6 March
2005
This is the report with quotes from the organisers on the crowd
numbers.
Financial Problems...
When mardi gras folded in 2002 due to financial problems, and with debts $700,000, the
'assets' were bought by a consortium of interests.
However in 2005 the organisation, now called 'New mardi
gras', was again in financial trouble with debts of over
$300,000.
They blamed poor bar sales, excessive fencing costs for
its Hyde
Park launch and a budget blow-out as the main
causes.
In addition to their operating loss, mardi gras said last
year they had been told they owed $196,000 in tax from the 2003 season!
In an effort to show how valuable the mardi gras is to the
economy of
Sydney
, the organisation
commissioned a financial study last year. The study is said to show that
“visitors who travelled to
Sydney
for Mardi Gras earlier this
year contributed $46 million to the state economy”.
It was conducted by Professor Ian Marsh, of the
University of
Sydney, and Shaun Wilson, of
Macquarie
University
. The study found that more
than 6100 people came to
Sydney
specifically for Mardi Gras. On average, international tourists spent $403 on
each of their 17 days here, while interstate arrivals spent $279 on each of
their 6˝ days.
How they found out who actually came to
Sydney
for the event is not
reported.
References:
New
strife for Mardi Gras after big loss
SMH, 6/5/2005
Fund-raising
flop threatens to rain on the Mardi Gras parade
SMH,
10/10/2005 Author: Jenny Stokes | Modified: 20 December 2007 |
