Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture

ronnie3585

Just posted on the Galway 2020 Twitter page:

We aware of the current weather advisories. As public safety is our primary concern, we are keeping the situation under review. Our intention is that the Opening Ceremony will still go ahead, but may be subject to alteration. We will update further on Saturday morning.

Ficheall

This isn't what the obnoxiously loud noise is then?

ChewyLouie

Being discussed on RTE1 radio...

thecretinhop

utter bs by organisers, incompetent at best. hubris is the word. is this karma for de utter bull sht about changing date from jan to feb to cover up their lack of planning?
in city tribune women trying to book tickets for months no avail.
delighted when we won it, slowly turned to depression when i saw de cluster **** that emerged. then the legends of galway council elite came on. fk me. they can't organise a traffic light to sync.
now finally they will avoid decision untill its too late. no questioning of decision to have it in swamp, no questioning why so many have left the year...
so here we are probably called off 2mrw an utter fk up, oh btw another 2.5 million for this?? while 80 year old people lie in a and e waiting hours/days for help. fk me.

Storm 10

Any idea how much the set up in the swamp is costing heard today on radio they are the same crowd that done the opening ceremony for the London Olympics, I'm sure they don't come cheap

jammiedodgers

Storm 10 wrote: »

Any idea how much the set up in the swamp is costing heard today on radio they are the same crowd that done the opening ceremony for the London Olympics, I'm sure they don't come cheap

Shhh don't be asking questions. Just enjoy all the culture.

Greaney

Athenry was supposed to bucket down.... it didn't. Phew

ratracer

Greaney wrote: »

Athenry was supposed to bucket down.... it didn't. Phew

Well done Greaney! The online clips from the towns around the county all week look amazing. The set up down in South Park looks impressive and it will be such a disappointment if it doesn’t finish up with the spectacle that all the performers hard work and effort deserves.

Discodog

Storm 10 wrote: »

Any idea how much the set up in the swamp is costing heard today on radio they are the same crowd that done the opening ceremony for the London Olympics, I'm sure they don't come cheap

And did we really need to employ them? We have wonderfully creative people in Galway.

Ashleigh1986

Will they try to get some sort of event on ?
I'm thinking the president to make his speech .
If they cancel the fireworks and other parts ,and say nothing to the public , just to make sure the public attend in their thousands it will send out a bad message .
This outdoor event should have been held on the evening before st Patrick's day .
People would have been off the next day .
Thousands of tourists would already be in the city .
It would be springtime so chances of some better weather .
Showcase some Irish music .
It would be shown all around the world as part of 2020 and st Patrick celebrations.

pure.conya

Storm 10 wrote: »

Any idea how much the set up in the swamp is costing heard today on radio they are the same crowd that done the opening ceremony for the London Olympics, I'm sure they don't come cheap

not their money, it's all good

pure.conya

Discodog wrote: »

And did we really need to employ them? We have wonderfully creative people in Galway.

bit like the local arts festival, remember a rival festival had to be setup one year to include local artists, shocking levels of bull**** in this city

cfeeneyinterior

pure.conya wrote: »

bit like the local arts festival, remember a rival festival had to be setup one year to include local artists, shocking levels of bull**** in this city

Yea, they didn't seem to realise it was an "international" arts festival

ChewyLouie

We will update further on Saturday morning.

What time of day is morning for these creative folk?...

Snow Garden

Not a bad morning.

Discodog

Snow Garden wrote: »

Not a bad morning.

Take a walk along the shore like I just did. Freezing wind & now starting to rain.

Pen Rua

And it’s cancelled.

thesandeman

Cancelled.

zell12

biko

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/galway-2020-opening-ceremony-cancelled-due-to-weather-warnings-1.4165760

Galway 2020 opening ceremony cancelled due to weather warnings
Year as European Capital of Culture had been due to start with fire spectacle

Breaston Plants

Doesn't say when they plan to put it on.

Discodog

Breaston Plants wrote: »

Doesn't say when they plan to put it on.

The last delay date was Tuesday but that looks unlikely.

Rossie11

Real shame and bad luck but the right decision
I hope they can find a slot in coming weeks for it
As someone mentioned St Patrick weekend would be a better time

Redo91

Real shame they had to cancel it. Yes you could say it has been badly organised but there’s no denying it’s extremely unlucky that after a lovely week we end up getting a weather warning on the weekend of it.

They seem to have cancelled it but would have thought they could get it on a day next week or something.

Feel sorry for all the volunteers and anyone travelling for it. Saw about 50 people in down in Aarhus 2017 jackets from when they hosted it so people probably travelled from overseas.

ChewyLouie

Disappointing but the only decision with an orange warning in place. Was clear for days.

Would be great if they could leave the preparations in place and run it in a week or two. Or an altered version with everyone that's still available to take part.

wily minx

They used the word cancelled rather than postponed deliberately I'm sure. Presumably there isn't the budget to pay everyone twice over.

Greaney

ratracer wrote: »

Well done Greaney! The online clips from the towns around the county all week look amazing. The set up down in South Park looks impressive and it will be such a disappointment if it doesn’t finish up with the spectacle that all the performers hard work and effort deserves.

Thank you, alas, it had to be cancelled but I think you know this by now. We had a great night in Athenry and I'm under the impression they may have brought the delegates out that night in case Galway went under.

I heard this morning there was 1cm of water in South Park so ahead of the storm Surge they've to take the rigging down, there's electrics n' all.

For those of you who think it was a bad choice of venue...

I'm a Galway Native and South Park has always hosted large events, some of you are forgetting the Macnas Parade collaboration on a could summer day, raining, wind, and fireworks with Les Comedians. Fire works were always held over the bay. South Park has also been the venue for Ice rinks, circuses, horse shows, Oyster festivals etc.. They have all happened there. Some have been great, some have been a blow out. To any native 'Wegian' it was a natural choice. It was the opening ceremony for the year 2020... it was never going to happen in July. It was what it was, and it was ruddy bad luck 's all. After a damp start in Clifden, they had a great night in Spiddal on a pier…. and from Tuam to Athenry the weather was perfect. So I think it's only hurlers on the ditch who bitch, cos the dress rehearsal on Thursday was epic, and now I can tell you....

The large towers that ran the width of the long stage were above each of the town globes. One by one they were going to be lit again to drummers and a beautiful choral piece which none of the small towns got to hear. After the speeches and poetry, the Phoenix was to fly between the towers (about 200m), it was a full pyrotechnic bird, about 30ft span, and it looked amazing.... We got to see it at half power during the dress rehearsal.

South Park is great location and most locals know it. I've stargazed, watched meteor showers and lunar eclipses from there for over 30 years. It's a great spot, it will be used plenty in the future.... and if Galway2020 are up for it, we'll all get stuck into the closing ceremony as well...

Discodog

South Park is a huge risk in Winter. Yes there was a week of good weather but that's the exception. This weather was predicted over a week ago. It's a great shame but the high risk was always there.

Any future organiser must reduce the risk, for example towers are a no no. The prevailing wind is likely to be SW to W so the maximum wind speed for fireworks is not much more than 10 km/hr. It's very easy to exceed that in February.

Spiddal got in between two hail showers & it was freezing cold.

This kind of event should be summer only. You want people to be able to enjoy the event & linger.

There should be a load of fireworks ready for another event. The bird could be suspended on two cranes which can erected in a couple of hours.

fergiesfolly

Would their (Galway2020)insurance cover the cancellation of this event.
If so, could they not hold it later in the year?

Greaney

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Would their (Galway2020)insurance cover the cancellation of this event.
If so, could they not hold it later in the year?

Hard to know. It would depend on the policy. Some of it was 'delivered' the sculptours etc. It related to St. Bridget so it might jar. I imagine there might be a closing ceremony.... also in winter:o