Gold Dinner 2021 organisers leave Sydney Airport staff ‘unimpressed’

The Gold Dinner charity gala raised an incredible $4.8million for the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation on Thursday night.

But despite the celebrity guests stepping out for a good cause, some staff at Sydney Airport – where the star-studded dinner was held – were ‘unimpressed’ by how the event was organised.

One crew member said there were grumblings over the fact actress Rose Byrne was picked up directly from the tarmac following the auction and didn’t have to take the shuttle bus with the other attendees.

‘Rose had special permission [from the airport] so she didn’t have to catch the shuttle bus with other guests,’ they said.

According to the source, Rose’s driver was granted one-time access to drive directly onto the airport grounds to collect her without the need for a permit.

Meanwhile, other guests who paid $1,500 per ticket – including Anthony Minichiello and Terry Biviano, Ian Thorpe, Julie Bishop, Francesca Packer and Richard Wilkins – had ‘no problem’ catching the shuttle back to the airport terminal.

It’s likely event organisers arranged access to the tarmac to ensure the VIPs like Rose had a comfortable time at the event, without having to worry about waiting for a bus.

When contacted by Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday, a Sydney Airport spokesperson declined to comment.

It comes days after organisers shut down false rumours that Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky had ‘failed to bid’ at the charity auction. 

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Sunday, Gold Chair Monica Saunders-Weinberg said: ‘Our mission this year was to not only raise as much money as possible but to shine a light on this year’s beneficiary – Mental Health which is a crisis that effects far too many children and adolescents. 

‘The entire Hemsworth table stayed until after the official proceedings and were incredibly generous with their time, their dollars and in fact were some of our largest donors on the evening.

‘The Hemsworths were invited because they represent so much of what is good in our country and community, and they should be applauded for their positivity and generosity, as acknowledged by the Queens in this year’s honour list for Chris.

‘Over and above, Chris and Elsa donated a prize which earned the hospital $65,000 and were integral in helping us reach our goal and most importantly shine light on the mental health crisis affecting our youth.’