Ric Birch

Under the direction of Ric Birch, Spectak has unrivalled credits in Australia, the United States, Europe and Asia, making it the world's pre-eminent major events producer and creating some of the most successful and ambitious productions to be seen around the world.

Ric’s first production was at Caulfield South State School when, at the age of six, he wrote and produced a play for the class. It took him a number of years to find out that some people make a living this way. In the Sixties, Ric started GTK for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and went on to work in Australian television for many years as a director and producer. Ric has a low threshold for boredom and dislikes the thought of producing a long-running series if it means he has to turn up every day. His solution was to produce special events, preferably televised spectacles so he can go home and watch the replay. The first in a long line of replays were the ceremonies for the 1982 Commonwealth Games. These were held in Brisbane and made such an impact in Australia that Ric left immediately for the United States. This was the best place to be for the ceremonies of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games where Ric was allowed in free because he was the Director of Production.

Having developed a taste for free admission, he was allowed back into Australia to be Director of Entertainment for World Expo 88. This turned out to be a hugely successful party for the whole country and almost everyone went. Shortly afterwards, the hangover became a recession and Ric had to leave again. Based in Los Angeles he worked in Japan, Austria, Spain, Singapore and had trouble forwarding his mail. Luckily, Barcelona asked if he could be Executive Producer for the 1992 Olympic Ceremonies. He had such a good time that he wanted to do it again and was delighted when Sydney appointed him as Director of Ceremonies for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 because he didn't have to memorise a new postcode. The Millennium New Year Celebrations on Sydney Harbour have been hailed the best in the world by international press and TV commentators. Ric was responsible for the creative direction and production. The Sydney Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was on 15 September 2000. Cathy lit the flame, and the rest is history ....

.... and the history continues. After Sydney, Ric spent some time in the US with Rupert Murdoch and Fox Studios, working on numerous American Events. Ric has now joined with the Filmmaster Group in Italy, and travels between Italy, Beijing, Dubai, Shanghai, Qatar, USA, Europe, and the rest of the world. Where is home? Well there is a little bit of bushland outside Sydney that he wants to get back to. The only question is when?