Kyle Sandilands fires up over use of Welcome to Country acknowledgement for a very surprising reason
Kyle Sandilands is angry about Welcome to Country’s recognition in Australia, claiming it has been devalued due to its ‘overuse’.
The radio shock jock, 52, weighed in after Wednesday’s State of Origin opener, which saw Savannah Flynn acknowledge the country’s traditional owners before Australian Idol’s Dylan Wright performed a country music rendition of the national anthem.
Kyle and his radio host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, 49, discussed the mixed reception to Dylan’s unique rendition of the national anthem on Thursday’s Kyle And Jackie O Show.
While praising both individual achievements, Kyle criticized football matches for taking over the Welcome to Country recognition in general.
The radio king said he believes traditional recognition has lost its impact because it is being “overused” commercially.
Kyle Sandilands, 52, (pictured) is excited about the Welcome to Country recognition as he claimed it has been devalued due to its ‘overuse’
‘You know what I noticed? People are scanning Welcome to Country because it is overused and has lost its impact!’
He criticized companies and football matches for adopting Welcome to Country, claiming its “powerful” and “emotional” meaning has been lost on Aussies.
‘People are now more likely to become irritated than to be immersed in the culture and become spiritually aware. People don’t like it when the smoke is waving and everyone is dancing,” he said angrily.
He slammed football matches for adopting the Welcome to Country after Savannah Fynn (pictured) recognized the country’s traditional owners during Wednesday’s State of Origin opener
‘I think that’s sad, it’s used so often, it’s pathetic. They have ruined the aboriginal message by using it on Qantas, Foxtel, in football.
“You can’t go to the mall without someone welcoming you to the land of Westfield. It’s overused and it needs to be dialed back a bit.”
Kyle argued that it “always has to be something amazing,” while his co-host Jackie agreed that Welcome to Country is overused commercially.
The radio shock jock criticized companies and football matches for adopting Welcome to Country, claiming its “powerful” and “emotional” meaning has been lost on Aussies.
‘It has lost its powerful meaning. A welcome to the land of the indigenous people who live here, who have always lived here, should be an extremely powerful, emotional and spiritual feeling,” he added.
In a traditional Welcome To Country, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander administrators welcome people to their country at the start of an event or ceremony.
His comments came after Savannah performed Welcome to Country at the State of Origin opener in Sydney on Wednesday night.
She was praised by viewers for recognizing the country’s traditional owners, before shouting ‘may the best team win’ while dressed in blues gear.
Some fans also expressed pride in Savannah recognizing her Dubbo roots, a town in the Orana region of NSW.
