‘Tuned into 2002’: Aussies react to underwhelming ABC NYE

Sydney Harbour erupted into light and colour last night, as perhaps the most famous New Year’s Eve firework display in the world lit up the city.

But, as always, some Australians who tuned into the ABC’s coverage were underwhelmed.

Hosts Charlie Pickering and Zan Rowe kicked off the national broadcaster’s coverage, live from Sydney Harbour, shortly before the 9pm fireworks.

The complaints immediately started to flow.

“Every year the Sydney #ABCNYE somehow gets worse,” lawyer Gray Connolly said on X.

“The fireworks are more unimpressive, the booked acts more lame and third rate, the enthusiasm more feigned as if it is NYE Pyongyang on the harbour … in awe of this ongoing commitment to mediocrity tbqh.”

The fireworks are organised by the City of Sydney Council.

“Is that what people line up at 4.30am for?” another social media pontificator wondered.

For many, the choice of musicians – from Melanie C to Casey Donovan, The Cat Empire, Jem Cassar-Daley, and Matt Corby – was a major point of contention.

“Mel C, Casey Donovan and the Cat Empire, so glad I’ve tuned into 2002 NYE on ABC,” one person said.

“How do #abcnye manage to get artists to play the most boring unsuitable songs for a #NYE event every feckin year?” another person said.

“Have the organisers never been to a decent party in their life? Every year it gets worse.”

Former Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm’s performance drew particular scorn.

Mel C, or “Sporty Spice”, entertained viewers with a medley of songs, including Never Be the Same Again and Sweat, plus old classics 2 Become 1 and Spice Up Your Life.

“I thought it would be very rude of me to come all this way and not sing a Spice Girls song,” she quipped to the crowd.

“How much have the ABC spent on 20 minutes of Mel C performing, 20 f***ing minutes? We want our taxpayer money back,” wrote one especially grumpy viewer.

“A washed up Spice Girl, Mel C, sums up the ABC perfectly. The taxpayer had to fork out a mozza for her. Pretty fit for 52 though,” said another, who at least rounded out their fury with a touch of lecherousness.

Other sledgers accused Mel of serving up “bad karaoke” and ruining her own songs.

On a lighter note, some viewers said the performance reminded them of Aerobics Oz Style, a fitness show that aired on Australian TV decades ago.

“Oz Style Aerobics wasn’t on my bingo card but it’s the same venue,” one commenter joked.

The ABC has now turned off comments on a Facebook post about its broadcast. But plenty of critics got their say in before being cut off.

“Relieved to see it’s not just me wondering what the hell is going on this year,” said one.

“It’s been a bit of a downer ... must have spent 99.5 per cent of the budget on Mel C (who I love). Hang in there, Marcia will rev us up, hopefully.”

Speaking about The Cat Empire, who performed just after 9pm, one particularly brutal critic said: “HOW is this performance still going? Five songs for a horrible group is insane.”

“And the crowd goes mild,” added another cutting commenter.

The performances were not the only focus of criticism. Viewers also chafed at the ABC for botching its timing, with midnight coming and going before it started its countdown.

“Plus, they missed showing menorah on the bridge and instead went for a drone shot. And missed the countdown for midnight, which had already struck by the time Mel C finished, and they did a hurried late countdown,” said one person.

On the website Reddit, one poster did acknowledge it had become almost a tradition, in Australia, to rubbish the ABC’s coverage.

“I assume it’s the same for most others, but roasting the ABC New Years show comes from a place of love and tradition,” they quipped.

We should note that some comments were, believe it or not, actually positive, particularly towards performers Marcia Hines and Casey Donovan.

“Can we just have Casey come out and do a 90 minute set of party anthems?” one person wrote on social media.

“Next year please just save us all the suffering and give us a rotating Casey and Marcia set for the whole four hours,” said another.

The Cat Empire also came in for praise, disregarding the previous quote about them, with one person saying: “Even if you’ve never heard a song before, you end up dancing along to it!”

A tribute to children's program Playschool received a warm welcome.

“Great tribute to Playschool,” one person said.

The ABC hosts were also praised. One on Reddit said: “Zan Rowe and Charlie Pickering have been doing very well on co-hosting duties.”

The ABC’s Head of Arts, Music and Events Kath Earle promised beforehand that the broadcast would “be truly memorable and lots of fun”.

“It’s a joy to collaborate with City of Sydney and share this celebration with audiences across Australia and around the globe,” he said.