Moomba king Shane Warne takes throne
From spin king to Moomba king, Shane Warne has embraced his new regal role with customary gusto.
Born and bred in Melbourne, the cricket icon has remained firmly in the spotlight since his retirement and says he jumped at the chance to reign over the peculiarly Melbourne festival that is Moomba.
"I didn't even hesitate. I said `yes thank you very much for the opportunity'.
"I am very proud to be king of Moomba," he said, moments before taking the throne on Monday.
His Moomba queen is Bollywood royalty Pallavi Sharda who said she felt right at home dressed in a sari and Moomba crown.
"I feel pretty Bollywood today, there's some Bollywood dancers in the parade and I have already had a bit of a jig with them so it's as Bollywood as Melbourne's gotten for me," she said.
More than 2,000 people will perform in the parade on floats designed by local children and cultural groups along St Kilda Road.
Lord Mayor Robert Doyle admitted that when he took on the job, he considered killing off the tired looking event, but instead went the other way.
"We decided this was too important for the people of Melbourne so we invested in it and now I think its a great weekend," he said.
The event now attracts more than one million people and the parade should draw a crowd of about 80,000.
