Oprah fans touch down for Aussie adventure

Oprah Winfrey’s ecstatic audience arrive in Sydney for their all-paid tour with the talk show queen.

SYDNEY: Embarking on its journey on September 8, 1986, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” has passed through 24 seasons and nearly 3,724 episodes. Now with the 25th season dawning, the d-day for the “Oprah” finale nears and it is almost time for Oprah to bid adieu to her fans across the world.

Oprah intends on closing the show with a memorable bang. The program recently kicked off it’s 25th season with one of the biggest surprises in the history of the show itself.

“I wanted to kick off my 25th season in a big way, and I’ve heard Australia is the ultimate adventure. It’s one of the places I’ve always wanted to visit, and who better to take with me on this trip of a lifetime than some of my most loyal viewers” announced Winfrey as she invited her audience members to an all-paid trip to Australia.

And so Oprah Winfrey’s ecstatic audience embarks upon their journey, arriving in Sydney for their much-hyped tour with the talk show queen.

“They are probably the most excited people there are,” said an “Oprah” crew member who travelled with the audience. The lucky winners were jubilant at being picked for Oprah’s first and only film shoot outside the United States for the final season of her hit talk show.

The fans and crew are to be whisked to an inner-city hotel for a briefing on their tightly-guarded itinerary, which is reportedly a  feature a climb of Sydney’s Harbour Bridge that will be lit up for the visit with a big pink “O”.

Winfrey is due to arrive in Sydney on her private jet later on, during the week and will be hosting a welcome party for her audience members at the harbour side of the Botanic Gardens on Saturday.

The only confirmed event on her schedule is the recording of two episodes of her show in the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House on December 14 in front of 12,000 Australian fans.

Tourism minister Martin Ferguson took this opportunity to say that the 302 audience members will be split into groups to explore the vast continent and experience “the best Australian tourism has to offer” including the pristine reefs, tropical rainforests, rolling vineyards and the majestic monolith Uluru in the nation’s desert centre.

“Australian food and wine will feature heavily on all the tours and visitors would be offered surfing lessons, nature walks, snorkelling and beachside barbecues for “a taste of the Australian way of life.”

The country’s unique wildlife will also play a “starring role,” he added, with the cities of Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney to feature on the Oprah show’s itinerary.

While Winfrey’s audience enjoys a planned and paid party, the host herself follows a strict itinerary to maintain diplomatic ties and will reportedly meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Melbourne on Friday at the Federation Square.

However, this is not the first time that Winfrey has gained attention from the politically acclaimed. The TV mogul and Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney recently received the Kennedy Centre honour for their contribution towards American culture where US President Barack Obama said all the people chosen to receive this year’s honours “are being honoured for their unique ability to bring us closer together and to capture something larger about who we are - not just as Americans, but as human beings and have given the nation extraordinary gifts of the art.” AFP

WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM REUTERS AND OPRAH.COM

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2010.