Kitty Flanagan has her eye on Oprah while she's visiting Sydney - The 7pm Project.
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Broadcast date: 7th December, 2010. No copyright infringement intended. All rights reserved to Roving Enterprises.
THE big sell is about to begin. Oprah's 300 Americans - hand-picked to be wowed by the wonders of Australia first-hand - have arrived and Sydney is gearing up to put on one hell of a show.
t was a deafening flight across the Pacific according to an unnamed Oprah crew member, who revealed guests were prone to breaking into screams of joy during their trip.
"They are probably the most excited people there are," he said.
As the lucky US guests filed through Kingsford Smith airport this morning, they waved at the waiting media and gushed about their adventure Down Under.
"That I was selected to do something such as this, I would have never thought little bitty ol' me would ever have this opportunity," Orlando Bogins, from Detroit said.
Plans of the neurotically guarded itinerary have been leaked to The Daily Telegraph, and outline the rundown of iconic Aussie experiences her guests can look forward to.
Wine tasting in the Hunter Valley, touring the Blue Mountains, and surfing lessons in Byron Bay are all on the schedule for the audience who are expected to be split into three groups for this leg of their holiday.
Qualia, the uber-luxury Hayman Island resort, will also reportedly play host to 120 audience members.
It's the kind of global exposure that Tourism Australia must dream about.
Winfrey's Down Under adventure will reportedly add $47 million to the bottom line for the tourism industry.
"They're (Tourism Australia) targeting this demographic because these are the people - the middle class families in the US - who decide where holidays are taken," a NSW Government source tells the Daily Telegraph.
Gift rush
Winfrey's gift for giving will mean an early Christmas bonus for Australian business, with more than 3000 companies pitching services and products ranging from sunscreen to luxury cars for the media mogul to road test or showcase during her Sydney broadcasts.
The first of what is expected to be many free goodie bags were handed out to the audience yesterday as soon as they hit the Qantas check-in desk.
Operators hosting the Oprah delegations are bound by confidentiality agreements, but it is understood Winfrey is expected to travel "extensively".
Joining the ranks of those getting ready to wow Winfrey and Co is Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Miss Gillard will reportedly appear either live, or in a pre-recorded segment, with the world's most powerful woman as part of the TV extravaganza according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Lockdown
Much of inner Sydney is about to be assaulted by a "lockdown" a la the 2007 APEC meeting, with access to tracts of the city and Circular Quay being restricted for the next hysterical week or so.
Reports today suggest that the level of protection afforded to the daytime TV doyenne will far outshine that which encircled previous international guests like Princess Diana, Bill Clinton and the Pope.
Technically, Winfrey is "foreign guest of the Government", an honour that comes complete with police escorts and a government protection detail. What this all means is that a security onslaught of an unprecedented intensity is about to descend on Sydney for the next week or so.
What will this all cost? According to NSW Premier Kristina Kenneally, the bill that taxpayers will foot is "yet to be finalised".
With the Queen of Squawk expected to arrive by private jet tomorrow, Day O is finally upon us.
Read more: www.news.com.au...
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