Thaindian News

September 14, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): The public in Victoria, Australia seem to have amassed $500,000 all for Oprah Winfrey to visit then down under. A shopping trip in Melbourne will also be thrown in for the TV queen who is a billionaire herself.

She is expected to travel with 300 members from Chicago for the shopping jaunt. Her interest in the 2008 epic , ‘Australia’ by Baz Luhrmann had triggered ‘Project O’ which is the project conceived by the local tourism insiders.

This is in fact the very first time that Oprah will be putting up a show outside North America. Her fans from Australia will be able to catch a glimpse of her as well as enjoy her show at Sydney where the tickets will be sold in the true Olympian style via public ballots.

The tax payers in Victoria are chipping in with the $4 million national package which includes $1.5 from the federal cash and another $2 million from the NSW government.

John Brown, a former boss of the tourism industry welcomed the stand and said that it was a fitting reply to Paul Hogan’s buzz.

Oprah is planning to hold two shows in the Opera house which might witness around a 3000 people strong audience. They will also include the 300 fans of Oprah who will be treated to the show as announced in the opening episode of the final season of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ yesterday.

The TV queen did not forget to send a message to her Australian fans yesterday amid much cheering when she switched to an Australian accent and said ‘cheers mate’.

A spokeswoman for the government in Victoria said that Oprah’s visit is expected to benefit the state tourism industry. It will be an opportunity to place Victoria in the forefront, she explained.

Oprah Winfrey’s show currently reaches an astounding 40 million people in the US and is also broadcast in 145 other countries.