Oprah Surprises Her Audience

Oprah Winfrey and her audience members on Monday night show

Since it is the season finale of the show that has made history in television, Oprah had to make it in a big way. And she definitely did. Oprah Winfrey surprised her audience on her Monday night show by offering them a free trip to Australia for eight days.
Well, the bill may be $2.8 million, but Oprah can surely afford such an action. And of course, she got all the help she needed. Australian authorities saw in it a way to boost tourism and they helped Oprah come in the country will all her staff and audience. The tourism minister said that the money gave this way was actually very well spent because now Australia will be on the spotlights, and for eight days. And since Oprah is the most popular TV show in the Unites States being watched by more than 40 million Americans and also being screened in 145 countries, maybe they didn’t make such a bad decision.

“Oprah is a household name and her star power has the potential to life Australia’s profile as a premier tourist destination,” the tourism minister said in a statement. And it seems that although people can criticize this action, politicians agree with it. “We spent hundreds of millions of dollars over 30 years without much effect, I must say that honestly,” the former tourism minister said in a press conference. “The publicity that Oprah will bring to Australia around the world is something you couldn’t buy,” he added. Is he right? What is definitely true is that all the attention given to Oprah in that week will actually be focused on this country.

Well, you can imagine the happiness that the audience members felt once Oprah announced them that they are off to Australia for eight days and seven nights, all costs covered. It’s like winning a free trip with someone you admire. However, Oprah said that she will shoot at least two episodes of her show there. One will be made at Sydney Opera House on December 14.

But, the famous TV host has been planning this trip in the last year, although she told that she wasn’t really sure about the destination. “I started to think about where would I most want to go. Maybe I should take all of you with me to the other side of the world … We’re going to Australia!” Oprah said in the Monday night show. And she made it in a big way as when she said the good news, a huge plane entered the set and who else could have come out of it than John Travolta? The actor is a licensed commercial pilot, so he can fly them to Australia.

However, this is not the first time that Oprah makes gifts to her audience, although it is the first time when a US show moves to shoot outside the continent. Oprah also gave each audience member a new car in 2004, she gave staff members her “O” Magazine Apple iPads and $10,000 checks, besides the charity projects in which she has been involved over the years, giving scholarships, money for homes or schools.

This is the final series of the show that Oprah has hosted for years. This maybe the 25th and final series of “Oprah” but this doesn’t mean that the television host won’t be on the screen any longer. In fact, starting with January 1, Oprah will launch her own television channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network.   11