Australia Up Close Dateless and Desperate? This Night'S for You By DARREN McLEAN	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
ブラインドデート・パーティー 恋人がいなくて寂しいですか？ーーゴールド・コースト恒例のイベントに、テーマパークを会場にしたブラインドデート・ダンスパーティーがあります。5,000人の独身貴族が参加するこの催し、お相手はコンピューターで決められますが、果たしてその成果は…？

What do you get when you cross 5,000 single, young Australians dressed in suits and gowns with unlimited beer and wine, music, roller coasters and thrill rides? It's called the Desperate and Dateless Ball, held at the Dreamworld, a theme park on the Gold Coast.

Held on February 13, the night before Valentines Day, the Desperate and Dateless Ball is a night of glamour, fun and excitement, as thousands of single men and women try to find their perfect match.

All rides and attractions at the Dreamworld theme park are open including the Giant Drop, a 39-story free fall, the Tower of Terror, a thrill ride that speeds at 160 kilometers per hour, and the Thunderbolt roller coaster. The more tame at heart can watch the five Bengal tigers on Tiger Island or cuddle a koala.

There is live music and entertainment all night long for those who wish to dance the night away or just enjoy the vibrant party atmosphere. Glen Lawless, from Brisbane, had the ominous task of matching the participants into couples using a computer program. Prior to the night, all the desperate and dateless fill out a love quiz which asks various questions about their occupation, hobbies, likes and dislikes. Each person is then assigned a blind date, in the hope of meeting that someone special.

Stomachs started churning early in the night from blind date nerves but as the night went on standards dropped and many found themselves embracing in a Valentines Day kiss.

"From the success I saw on the night, the computer program worked more often than not," said Lawless. Some lucky people were matched with their "dream date" but others lost all faith in computer dating when they found their partner to be the wrong size, shape or personality.

One budding Romeo traveled from the United States in search of companionship. Michael Gomez, a computer expert from Los Angeles, stumbled across the Desperate and Dateless Ball on the Internet and decided to take a three-day vacation (or mission) to find an Aussie girl.

Michael's blind date was Debra Fulton from Brisbane. The "strangers in the night" met at the hotel they were both staying and headed to Dreamworld with high hopes. Unfortunately the love fairy tale did not end as planned.

"I found Michael's American ways overwhelming," said Fulton, "but I did meet an Australian guy who was really nice."

The D & D Ball is held annually to raise money for the Red Cross, an international humanitarian organization that protects the lives of those suffering from natural disasters, wars and conflicts. Over A$100,000 (¥8 million) was raised from the D & D Ball to aid 30 different community services in Australia. Founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1863 the Red Cross organization is also prominent in Japan. The Emperor is the honorary president of the Japanese Red Cross Society, which gave valuable aid during such recent events as the flooding on the west coast of central Japan and the 1998 Nagano Winter Paralympics in March.

One of the 5,000 desperate and dateless participants was my sister, Chelsea, who previously wrote "Australia Up Close." Chelsea had her own theory about the event however.

"It should be called the `Daring and Dateless Ball' because my friends and I definitely don't consider ourselves to be desperate," said Chelsea. "It was such fun but, hopefully I'll have more luck with my date next year."

Cath Webber, from Southport, went to the D & D Ball with three friends but to their despair none of their dates showed up! Nonetheless she found amusement in other couples' affairs.

"Watching people ditch their dates is cruel, but there is no denying it's funny," said Webber. "I even saw one guy running from his date when she went to the bathroom."

Australia's biggest singles' night of the year provided both dating triumph and tragedy. Even the unlucky ones enjoyed the event's fun, laughter and good spirit while raising money for such an excellent charity as the Red Cross. And as they say — there's always next year!

Shukan ST: March 12, 1999

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