 The Media Release below is the first we are sending re this weekend's Sydney mardi gras.
Please use the information to write a letter to your local and capitol city newspapers AND to please phone your local TV station news room to ask for honesty and accountability if/when reporting this event. You might ask them not to do so!
Point out the impossibility of there even being even 300,000 people (the lowest organisers estimate for of the last few years) and, if possible, quote Adam Carr, the homosexual journalist who exposed the numbers fraud in 2000 following our campaign in the late 90's. He titled his article "Mardi Gras crowd puzzle" - he was not popular for telling the truth but we need to keep telling people and the media the truth.
Please forward this information and encourage your friends to take action.
Everyone’s Doing It!
Grand Prix organizers have admitted it, and it’s time for the Sydney mardi gras organizers to admit it too!
“If Grand Prix organizers, who sell tickets, don’t know their actual attendance figures, how easy is it for Mardi gras parade organisers to exaggerate non ticket attendance figures?” asks Peter Stokes CEO of Christian ethics group Salt Shakers.
In 3 years, 1996-98, Mardi gras organizers raised their attendance figures from an already exaggerated 300,000 up to 500,000 and then to 700,000.
A 200,000 increase per YEAR!!
Overnight in 2006 the organisers REDUCED their crowd ‘estimate’ DOWN from 500,000 on the Saturday night to 300,000 on Sunday morning!
Full story http://www.saltshakers.org.au/html/P/9/B/335/
Why? Because they were challenged by the media and us.SMH article at http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/a-fairytale-ending-to-the-night-before/2006/03/05/1141493548859.html
The only person seemingly prepared to accurately assess mardi gras numbers is homosexual journalist Adam Carr, who said in 2000, that the real attendance figure was between 60,000 and 75,000. http://www.adam-carr.net/bnews/2002/bnm3.txt
In 2003, the police finally admitted the figures were false and stopped endorsing the exaggerated estimates given by the Mardi gras organizers. This abandonment, in 2002 came after police forced organisers to reduce the estimate down 100,000 each year for 3 years (1999 – 2001).
They dragged them down to 400,000 but knew that was still excessive.
“If there really were 400,000 it would require 48 rows of people on EACH side of the parade,” Peter Stokes said.
It is not difficult to estimate crowd numbers along a defined route. The Mardi gras route is LESS than 2 km long. Using 2 people for every metre along the route gives a row of 4000 people. Even if there are 10 rows on each side of the parade, that would mean 40,000 on each side of the parade. If you then allow, even another 10,000 on balconies and roofs and 10,000 marching in the parade itself, this is still only a total of 100,000.
The fact is, there are rarely even 5 rows of people on each side of the route – more than this severely restricts the viewing except at Hyde Park and Taylor Sq. Therefore, Adam Carr’s estimate of 5 rows of people along the whole route, allowing a very ‘squeezy’ 3 people per metre, giving a total of approx 60,000 -75,000 people in attendance, is very credible.
It’s time for honesty and accuracy on this issue of crowd attendance from organisers because they use the inflated figures for all types of promotional and financial advantage.
We call on the media to give a more accurate assessment of the crowd at Mardi gras this weekend rather than just reporting the propaganda figures given to them by the organisers.
We will be monitoring the mardi gras and the media reports this weekend to assess accountability.
For more details or media interviews contact Peter Stokes.
CEO, Salt Shakers Inc.
Office: 03 9800 2855
Mbl: 0413 084 145
E
: peter@saltshakers.org.au |
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