Royal de Luxe September 2014

highlydebased

Sure here, you could give out gold bars on the street and there would be objections!

Tefral

tylrmd wrote: »

What a waste of our money Putting up with an incontinent puppet holding the city hostage with its unnecessary traffic restrictions. Garda putting up with unnecessary **** from frustrated drivers all in aid of paying a french circus to cause havoc with a crap event. City of culture my bollocks !!!!!!

I'd say just about everyone in this photo disagrees with you

Kess73

The only negative thing I could say about it was that it was a single giant show and not a multi giant show, but that is simply down to me wanting to see a huge draw become even more massive.


Would imagine that for many people this may be the largest event in terms of crowds that they may get to see in Limerick city centre during their lifetime.


Would imagine that the crowd estimates over the three days will come close (ish) to those from when the Pope came here.

Mr.H

Kess73 wrote: »

The only negative thing I could say about it was that it was a single giant show and not a multi giant show, but that is simply down to me wanting to see a huge draw become even more massive.


Would imagine that for many people this may be the largest event in terms of crowds that they may get to see in Limerick city centre during their lifetime.


Would imagine that the crowd estimates over the three days will come close (ish) to those from when the Pope came here.

How cool would it be if they could do a multi giant show where the giants fight each other in the streets now thats a show I wanna see.

I cant understand how anyone can slate this event. It was an obvious success that brought great pro-limerick media attention.

Occono

Kess73 wrote: »

The only negative thing I could say about it was that it was a single giant show and not a multi giant show, but that is simply down to me wanting to see a huge draw become even more massive.


Would imagine that for many people this may be the largest event in terms of crowds that they may get to see in Limerick city centre during their lifetime.


Would imagine that the crowd estimates over the three days will come close (ish) to those from when the Pope came here.

It drew twice the attendance of the pope over the weekend, they estimate.

I never heard about it until friday night, went in saturday and sunday though we missed the storytelling. No big deal, still amazing seeing how many people were around.

finbarrk

tylrmd wrote: »

What a waste of our money Putting up with an incontinent puppet holding the city hostage with its unnecessary traffic restrictions. Garda putting up with unnecessary **** from frustrated drivers all in aid of paying a french circus to cause havoc with a crap event. City of culture my bollocks !!!!!!

It was a huge success. I'd say you are great craic!

Itsdacraic

Fair play to everyone involved. I was skeptical enough as to the appeal of this, but it seems to have been an incredible success. Well done to everyone involved and the 000's of people who turned out to support it.

Kess73

Occono wrote: »

It drew twice the attendance of the pope over the weekend, they estimate.

I never heard about it until friday night, went in saturday and sunday though we missed the storytelling. No big deal, still amazing seeing how many people were around.

The pope was meant to have drawn up to 300,000 people to Limerick on one day. Don't think the Giant over three days drew quite that figure, but drew some very impressive crowds nonetheless.

Kess73

Mr.H wrote: »

How cool would it be if they could do a multi giant show where the giants fight each other in the streets now thats a show I wanna see.

I cant understand how anyone can slate this event. It was an obvious success that brought great pro-limerick media attention.

The multi giant shows do have the various giants interacting with one another (not fighting though :P)


The giant dog I think looks very cool, and the little girl giant dances and can leave the ground such is the way she is operated.

The deep sea diver is also a very cool giant, but he might be a little large for Limerick city as if memory serves right he is quite a bit taller than the granny giant, and requires a larger crane etc. In Liverpool in 2012 they had him come out of the Mersey in full deep sea diving gear.

The dog giant would certainly fit in Limerick though, and the little girl giant probably could as well. I guess the problem with having a number of giants in Limerick would be doiwn to it being quite a small city and the streets not being wide enough to support a number of giants interacting in the way they have done in other cities. Would be a hell of a show if they could bring more giants if they come back again, even if it were only to have them march in single file.

volchitsa

Kess73 wrote: »

The multi giant shows do have the various giants interacting with one another (not fighting though :P)


The giant dog I think looks very cool, and the little girl giant dances and can leave the ground such is the way she is operated.

The deep sea diver is also a very cool giant, but he might be a little large for Limerick city as if memory serves right he is quite a bit taller than the granny giant, and requires a larger crane etc. In Liverpool in 2012 they had him come out of the Mersey in full deep sea diving gear.

The dog giant would certainly fit in Limerick though, and the little girl giant probably could as well. I guess the problem with having a number of giants in Limerick would be doiwn to it being quite a small city and the streets not being wide enough to support a number of giants interacting in the way they have done in other cities. Would be a hell of a show if they could bring more giants if they come back again, even if it were only to have them march in single file.

I recently saw the granny and the little boy (didn't see a girl at all) on holiday in France this summer, in Nantes where they are based. At the end the Granny put the little boy to bed and told him a story (which I couldn't hear well enough to follow anyway, though I got the impression that some of it was in English - but am not too sure, the sound just was too poor, or we were too far away.)

The crowds were enormous, lovely atmosphere. We really enjoyed it, though I can see that it might not please everyone. It's very slow and measured, not the sort of frantic mood you get at fairgrounds and the like. More like choreography.

Iranoutofideas

I wish someone would create a puppet of the BFG

gregers85

Went in to see Granny yesterday! Was bloody brilliant! Really enjoyed the spectacle of it! The crowd was huge, Sun was shining, there was a great buzz about the place and the city looks amazing in all the pics I've seen! What more could you ask of a Sunday afternoon!

Xennon

I cant understand how anyone can slate this event.

Ah haters be hating

Kess73

gregers85 wrote: »

Went in to see Granny yesterday! Was bloody brilliant! Really enjoyed the spectacle of it! The crowd was huge, Sun was shining, there was a great buzz about the place and the city looks amazing in all the pics I've seen! What more could you ask of a Sunday afternoon!

They really did get lucky with the weather. Don't think they could have looked for better weather than what they got for the three days.

chicorytip

As a spectacle, I found it completely lacking in both originality
and artistic merit.

DarkJager

chicorytip wrote: »

As a spectacle, I found it completely lacking in both originality
and artistic merit.

Yeah, because you see an 8 meter tall puppet walking around every day of the week

topper75

It's street theatre chicorytip. It's for people to enjoy - not meant to be avant garde.

It totally worked. Great memory.

Itsdacraic

chicorytip wrote: »

As a spectacle, I found it completely lacking in both originality
and artistic merit.

That's a pity.

Insect Overlord

chicorytip wrote: »

Does anybody consider this just a gigantic
waste of money ?

chicorytip wrote: »

Macnas and Bui Bolg have been doing
this kind of thing brilliantly for years on a
smaller scale,admittedly.Limerick has been designated as the nation's capital
of culture for the year 2014.Would it not be more appropriate,therefore,to highlight
and promote genuine and worthy local and,indeed,national talent rather than the
egotistical follies of some self-proclaimed
French "genius".

chicorytip wrote: »

As a spectacle, I found it completely lacking in both originality
and artistic merit.

Did they do something to personally offend you?

wotswattage

Has anyone seen a breakdown of the numbers who turned out over the weekend?

Nudnig

It was an amazing few days in Limerick to be sure! Is it negative though to suggest how it could have been improved? Things I thought were missing or could have been added:
- street entertainment/buskers/music in the city centre, especially between the morning and afternoon shows. Something akin to the brilliant entertainment the day of the Heineken Cup quarter final where UL dance academy, jugglers, street artists lit up the streets.
- food stalls similar to the French market during Riverfest weekend.
- information on the story the giant was creating or telling. I was in for the three days but did not hear one story or could not find anything online to follow the story; I'm still in the dark. You can't expect everyone to have the luxury of following the granny for the full three days. Maybe this is what the 'I didn't get it' brigade mean??
I think the centre appeared like a ghost town without the traffic on Friday and Saturday and that is the image the city is trying to dispell. When you get all of these people into town, then that is the chance to sell it.
Hard for it to sound like "I'm not being negative but", when you feedback like this, but this was the opinion of a number of other people I spoke to today also. Just wondering if I'm in the minority on this?

Silentcorner

Nudnig wrote: »

It was an amazing few days in Limerick to be sure! Is it negative though to suggest how it could have been improved? Things I thought were missing or could have been added:
- street entertainment/buskers/music in the city centre, especially between the morning and afternoon shows. Something akin to the brilliant entertainment the day of the Heineken Cup quarter final where UL dance academy, jugglers, street artists lit up the streets.
- food stalls similar to the French market during Riverfest weekend.
- information on the story the giant was creating or telling. I was in for the three days but did not hear one story or could not find anything online to follow the story; I'm still in the dark. You can't expect everyone to have the luxury of following the granny for the full three days. Maybe this is what the 'I didn't get it' brigade mean??
I think the centre appeared like a ghost town without the traffic on Friday and Saturday and that is the image the city is trying to dispell. When you get all of these people into town, then that is the chance to sell it.
Hard for it to sound like "I'm not being negative but", when you feedback like this, but this was the opinion of a number of other people I spoke to today also. Just wondering if I'm in the minority on this?

You mean a Ghost town with 200,000 people walking about leisurely with kids not having to worry about cars zooming all over the place, basking in the sunshine with the time to look around and appreciate the beauty of our city centre? It was a masterstoke...the granny was only the focal point, the real story was in the city centre belonging to the people who turned out to see her...this city has suffered from a self image point of view, last weekend will have dramatically changed that...I just kept thinking that the first thing they should do in City Council on Monday morning is begin work pedestrianising O'Connell St.

I do take your point about the extra activities, who knows why there wasn't but we wouldn't be Limerick people if we didn't try and see if there was some way it could be improved, that is not a negative way of thinking at all...I say embrace it and never apologise for it!!!

DeWinterZero

Will we boards readers remember individual events of the year of Culture in 30 years time? Perhaps.

Will the 4 & 5 year olds who witnessed the Granny on her travels remember her? Always.

angeldaisy

DeWinterZero wrote: »

Will we boards readers remember individual events of the year of Culture in 30 years time? Perhaps.

Will the 4 & 5 year olds who witnessed the Granny on her travels remember her? Always.

Here here...

My 9 year old who was sceptical about enjoying it at all, being more interested in computers etc... said that Friday night was the best night ever! He got to follow the giant, meet his friends, ate pizza and had to run for the bus!! he enjoyed it so much that we went in again on Sunday.

Although Sunday was so busy we couldn't follow her really, but the theatre and the spectacle of the procession was amazing to see.

We stood for 2 hours waiting for her near the Treaty stone, with many many others. The children played in the street, we enjoyed the sunshine, We talked to strangers. there was such a lovely buzz about the place.

Yes it would have been nice to have other things going on around the city to maybe keep people in the city for longer. But I really don't think it can be faulted at all, for many parents, especially those with young children this was a huge event of the year of culture.

We've also been to see many of the local events, but there always needs to be a wow event, and this for us was it.

Cityslicker1

Silentcorner wrote: »

You mean a Ghost town with 200,000 people walking about leisurely with kids not having to worry about cars zooming all over the place, basking in the sunshine with the time to look around and appreciate the beauty of our city centre? It was a masterstoke...the granny was only the focal point, the real story was in the city centre belonging to the people who turned out to see her...this city has suffered from a self image point of view, last weekend will have dramatically changed that...I just kept thinking that the first thing they should do in City Council on Monday morning is begin work pedestrianising O'Connell St.

I do take your point about the extra activities, who knows why there wasn't but we wouldn't be Limerick people if we didn't try and see if there was some way it could be improved, that is not a negative way of thinking at all...I say embrace it and never apologise for it!!!

No way should O'Connell street be pedestrianised. Only for the traffic on that street in the evenings it would be way too quiet.There's no shops on it either so it just wouldn't work compared to success stories like Henry street in Dublin. It's also too broad and wide to have the same effect as Shop street in Galway.
If anything they should try emulate a similar re-modelling to Patrick street in Cork..keeping the traffic with maybe speed bumps or traffic calming measures...widening the footpaths..with the addition of street furniture..lots of trees etc. They should put the bus stops back outside Brown Thomas again..there used to always be a bit of a buzz there before like on any main thoroughfare.
Anyway to stay on topic it was great to see the crowds and vibrancy around the city centre and it just goes to show that people are prepared to come out when events are on.

Cookiemunster

Cityslicker1 wrote: »

No way should O'Connell street be pedestrianised. Only for the traffic on that street in the evenings it would be way too quiet.There's no shops on it either so it just wouldn't work compared to success stories like Henry street in Dublin. It's also too broad and wide to have the same effect as Shop street in Galway.
If anything they should try emulate a similar re-modelling to Patrick street in Cork..keeping the traffic with maybe speed bumps or traffic calming measures...widening the footpaths..with the addition of street furniture..lots of trees etc. They should put the bus stops back outside Brown Thomas again..there used to always be a bit of a buzz there before like on any main thoroughfare.
Anyway to stay on topic it was great to see the crowds and vibrancy around the city centre and it just goes to show that people are prepared to come out when events are on.

The bus stops were put outside Debenhams and the new traffic system put in place to facilitate the pedesdrianisation of O'Connell St from William St to Roches St. When they get the money it's going to happen.

adaminho

chicorytip wrote: »

As a spectacle, I found it completely lacking in both originality
and artistic merit.

As a critique I could say the same about yours!:pac:

panda100

DeWinterZero wrote: »

Will we boards readers remember individual events of the year of Culture in 30 years time? Perhaps.

Will the 4 & 5 year olds who witnessed the Granny on her travels remember her? Always.

Forget the 4 and 5 year olds, I'm 31 and I'll remember that forever! Absolutely amazing weekend in Limerick. I was mesmerised by the granny.

mgbgt1978

tylrmd wrote: »

What a waste of our money Putting up with an incontinent puppet holding the city hostage with its unnecessary traffic restrictions. Garda putting up with unnecessary **** from frustrated drivers all in aid of paying a french circus to cause havoc with a crap event. City of culture my bollocks !!!!!!

5 posts in nearly Four Years, all about what some would consider a gob****e's sport....GOLF For God's Sake.
How much lottery money was wasted on Golf Clubs in the middle of nowhere during the boom years ???
Hint...more than this event cost.

....and you save your 6th post to slate something that probably drew more people than every stupid, pissy little sexist Golf Club had playing over the whole weekend.

edit. And how come boards won't let me type gob****e, yet allow the word bollocks ???? Is there a swear-meter that lets some words through ? Possibly a boards swear-word dictionary that starts at 'G' ?

Iranoutofideas

I thought the Giant was great. Others didn't get it.

You know it is ok if people don't like something. Lets not have a mentality here of ganging up on people who have a different opinion.