The Commonwealth Games closing ceremony had slam poetry, karaoke and … zero athletes

The Commonwealth Games came to a close in Gold Coast, Australia on Friday night and people are still mad.

It’s being hailed as a disaster, with athletes never being shown on TV, and an event so boring that competitors left the stadium during the event which featured slam poetry by a child and a DJ set from Usain Bolt.

Let’s rewind a bit.

Held every four years like the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games feature countries that remain in the Commonwealth of Nations — those that retain ties to the United Kingdom. It has many of the same events you’d see at the Olympics, but also has some fun regional sports too, like cricket, netball, and lawn bowls.

You aren’t ready for the cavalcade of stars brought out for the closing ceremony.

It started with a decision by the games’ organizing committee not to feature athletes as part of the broadcast. They were brought in before the show began, and kept under low lights where they weren’t seen. Things got so bad that commentators for Channel Seven in Australia, the broadcasters of the Commonwealth Games, broke off script and started slamming the organizing committee.

People are STILL talking about how bad the closing ceremony was. As a result, Peter Beattie, chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation appeared on morning news to explain the “stuff up.” He tried to justify it by saying it was in the athletes welfare not to show them on TV and potentially make them stand for an hour.

Angry people are looking for someone to blame, with many pointing fingers at Jack Morton Worldwide, a PR company out of Boston which organized the event. The Commonwealth Games Committee are accepting responsibility, and people are still really mad athletes weren’t featured.

The next Commonwealth Games will be held in Birmingham, England in 2022. There is no word whether there will be slam poetry from a child.