Anne-Louise Brown | 11th May 2010

WHEN Sunshine Coast teenager Jessica Watson sails into Sydney Harbour on Saturday she will arrive to a spectacle on par with New Year’s Eve and Mardi Gras.

The occasion has been classified as a “class one” event by the New South Wales Road and Traffic Authority, with about 50,000 people expected to welcome Jess home.

Special events clearways will in place from 9am to 4pm in the Sydney CBD and the surrounding suburbs of Double Bay, Mosman and Watsons Bay, and police may close roads if necessary.

The price tag for the event, to be footed by the NSW government, is expected to total about $1 million.

Jess is expected to step on to dry ground about 11.30am, three days before her 17th birthday.

She will be met by her private security team at the Opera House, police, big video screens, and a media pack and will be interviewed live by Channel 10 as part of a lucrative deal for Jessica, rumoured to be worth a six figure sum.

Jessica’s project manager, Bruce Arms, who speaks with Jessica almost daily, confirmed yesterday that reports of mistakes and miscalculations with the teenager’s route were misleading and untrue.

“Jessica has adhered to every component of her chosen route,” Mr Arms said.

Source

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2010/05/11/jessicas-arrival-to-stop-a-city-sunshine-coast/

“She is a very strong-willed young lady. She chose the route, she writes all of her own blogs and that’s why she is just laughing at all the criticism of her and some of our team.”