26 August 2009

Antonia Kidman the 'face of Floriade'

| GnT
Join the conversation
35

That famous sister has been named as the ‘face of Floriade’. She will be in Canberra to officially open Floriade on September 11. According to the CT, she is a good choice because she loves gardening and is a yoga devotee, fitting in with this year’s theme of ‘Mind, Body and Soul’.

However wouldn’t it have been nice to select a local Canberran to be the face of our most famous festival? Antonia lives in Sydney and has never even been to Floriade before.

Join the conversation

35
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

4 kids!? nicole must be SUPER pissed that antonia hogged all the fertility genes.

4 kids!!! I too would have liked to have been rich in my youth to have had more than 2.

Pommy bastard6:36 pm 27 Aug 09

GnT said :

She is quite well known in the ‘parenting’ world. She has 4 kids, and presents a TV show (or two?) on pay TV, and has produced DVDs on raising children.

In which case I take back my allegation she is “V list”, she’s no higher than “Y list”

She is quite well known in the ‘parenting’ world. She has 4 kids, and presents a TV show (or two?) on pay TV, and has produced DVDs on raising children.

I think she hosts a TV show up in Sin City.

Antonia is quite a celebrity in her own right in Sydney; and Sydney-siders are a close local market for promoting Canberran attactions. I think this is sensible marketing. Antonia is classy, intelligent and she looks lovely in her flowery-Floriade promotion dress. It’s all good. At least she is Australian (unlike the international scrubbers they lure to the Melbourne Cup each year!).

Pelican Lini said :

Worst cultural cringe ever.
Fer cryin’ out loud she’s just the sister of somebody famous (who hasn’t done anything good since Bangkok Hilton IMO)

you mean ‘hasn’t done anythig good – full stop!’

you really think they could have got ‘somebody’ and not have had to resort to ‘somebody’s sister’, for pity’s sake.

we pay close to half a million for an afl game no-one went to see, so while this is actually good economic sense against that, we should have had matilda house or someone a bit more spiritual and recognisable and, like, local…

But who in Canberra can we pick from the local ‘talent’ pool?

Cam and Lisa from FM-104.7????

Jorian Gardner???

Hayley what’s-her-name-from-Holt????

Virginia ban-the-burka Hausegger???

What the hell… this is a new low for the Stanhope Govt… and one didn’t think it could get worse. Why the hell is Antonia Kidman opening Floriade – nothing against her personally, but we couldn’t get someone from Canberra – or at least do something edgy to open Floriade?? I like the idea of Chanel Cole to open.

I’d also like to add that if this is costing the ACT Govt (and therefore the taxpayers) money then that is a joke. Considering the lack of talent anywhere in Assembly I vote to get rid of self government – who’s with me??

Why not ask Kyle Sandilands to open Floriade?

He’d really put the event on the map!

At least Antonia’s got one thing going for her – unlike her Nicole, her face and nose doesn’t look like something Michael Jackson’s plastic surgery team bashed together one Friday afternoon after a long lunch.

I’d prefer the Kumars at number 42.

GardeningGirl1:09 am 27 Aug 09

She loves gardening and she lives just up the highway but she’s never been to Floriade before? Do we really need to pay her to come and feign enthusiasm?

Mark Carmody gets snubbed again.

“Although Michael Milton would surely have been an ideal ambassador for the festival, no matter what city he happens to call home.”

and 99% of the country has no idea who he is

sexynotsmart8:31 pm 26 Aug 09

I think it’s a good idea to get a hot Sydneysider in the marketing campaign. Don’t have any stats, but geography would suggest there will be a significant number of NSW visitors.

But if the polls are still open in the ‘suggest a local’ stakes, I would like to nominate the very tidy piece of young talent used to promote the last Black Opal racing carnival. Sorry I forgot your name! Floriade and spring racing… there have to be some synergies there.

Pelican Lini8:26 pm 26 Aug 09

Worst cultural cringe ever.
Fer cryin’ out loud she’s just the sister of somebody famous (who hasn’t done anything good since Bangkok Hilton IMO)

They’re not pretty enough.

what a waste of ACT taxpayers’ dosh. why not a gardening celebrity at least – how about don ‘i loathe parnsips’ burke or peter ‘i wouldn’t even vote for myself’ cundall?!

Nicole sold her house.

Personally, if we need to have little sisters, I think would liked to have seen Mimi Macpherson erupting out of the bushes. 😛

luther_bendross6:00 pm 26 Aug 09

I’m assuming they chose her because Stuart MacGill, Dannii Minogue and Michael Kowalski were all busy trying on their bridesmaids dresses interstate.

I sure hope she does better for Canberra promoting Floriade than Nicole did for Australian tourism with “Australia”!

Pommy bastard4:17 pm 26 Aug 09

a) Never heard of her.

b) If she’s as scary looking as her sister it’ll keep them away in droves.

c) Who’s idea was the pointless exercise in adding a “D list*” celeb to the festival?

*Ok, I’m being generous caling her “D list” more like “Vlit”

Why couldn’t we get Nicole? At least she has a house on the South Coast.

Igglepiggle said :

Why does floriade need a face? Don’t the flowers speak for themselves?

So the Canberra Times will print fluff pieces like that.

Arguing about it on blogs is a bonus.

I am a big fan of Nicole Kidman and have nothing against Antonia. She certainly has a pleasant face, but I am a little disappointed they didn’t choose somebody local.

It’s just a little plastic and fake having to import a ‘face’ from somewhere. ‘Soul’ surely involves a coming forth from the city. Somebody like Elkie or Chanel Cole. Somebody we kind of ‘own’ as a part of our identity.

Nambucco Deliria2:55 pm 26 Aug 09

At least Antonia’s face is capable of expression. Had it been Nicole, they would have had to bill her ‘The Immovable Face of Floriade’

James-T-Kirk2:39 pm 26 Aug 09

YAY – Will there be signs…. Should we credit the flower festival to the original land owners? Oh – We probably will.

Just need to figure out who they were….

Go The Saxons!

“Why does floriade need a face?”

Yeah. People who like flowers will go, people who don’t like flowers won’t.

I attend many times to take photos of them pretty flowers and it is always packed by 11am.

Sounds like a waste of money if they are paying her.

Unsure what I think here. On one hand, why not have a local pretty face with healthy lifestyle cred as the face of Floriade… but on the other hand, if we want this to be an Australian festival then we need to think outside our Territory borders. Although Michael Milton would surely have been an ideal ambassador for the festival, no matter what city he happens to call home.

Clown Killer2:20 pm 26 Aug 09

I think that it’s all a bit strange really – going out on a spring morning to stare at the reproductive organs of another species … it’s wierd.

barking toad2:02 pm 26 Aug 09

Antonia who?

Is this the biggest gig in her unknown career?

Why does floriade need a face? Don’t the flowers speak for themselves?

pikiran yang keruh said :

Why is everything we do here smack of ‘small dog syndrome’?

What exactly is that?

Just sounds like good marketing to me.

pikiran yang keruh1:17 pm 26 Aug 09

Why is everything we do here smack of ‘small dog syndrome’?

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.