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We talk to ‘Piers Morgan On…’ his new series

Posted Saturday 2nd January 2010by Editor

Piers Morgan returns in his role as a VIP access-all-areas pass as he explores the glitz and glamour, fortunes and flaws of Las Vegas, Marbella and Shanghai

He meets the people shaping the hedonistic lifestyles that define Las Vegas and Marbella as these iconic destinations seek to re-emerge from the impact of the credit crunch. And, in Shanghai, he samples the climate of raw ambition driving the rapidly expanding economic powerhouse to the brink of global dominance.

In Vegas Piers meets Hollywood legend Sly Stallone and multi-million dollar heiress Paris Hilton, takes in spectacular sights, the kind normally reserved for high rollers, including hotel suites with basketball courts and bowling alleys, and meets the major players seeking to shape the desert resort’s future away from gambling and against the real threat of water shortages.

In Marbella, Piers takes a look at the contrasting worlds that co-exist, at times uneasily, in the Spanish port: the staggering opulence of the ‘golden mile’ and Europe’s most expensive housing estate and the breath-taking decadence of exclusive restaurants selling bottles of bubbly for 30,000 Euros; the less exclusive sea-front bars and the beered-up Brits they attract; and the robberies and explosions of trigger happy violence that remind residents and visitors that the resort is home to some of Europe’s most powerful and ruthless criminals.

In Shanghai, Piers enters a mega-city forging a future as a global economic superpower. Its potency is symbolised by the world’s busiest ports and its ambition by the world’s tallest skyscrapers and highest hotel, where a suite costs £8,000 per night. But the pace of progress does not promise improved fortunes for all, as Piers discovers when he meets a family searching for a new home after theirs became one of many buildings demolished without consultation to make room for expansion.

What made you choose Las Vegas, Marbella and Shanghai for the new series? What appealed to you about those places?

I wanted to choose three very different places with three very different stories. Vegas is facing financial meltdown because of the credit crunch and may not even survive as we know it. Whereas Shanghai is definitely where the financial future of the world lies – an extraordinary city moving forward at an astonishingly fast pace. As for Marbella, it’s where all the rich, beautiful people go to party – and a place where millions of Brits either go or want to go.

Did any of them surprise you?

They all surprised me. Vegas was even more spectacular and over-the-top then I ever imagined; Shanghai was absolutely fascinating in every way, from the people to the culture, to the exotic food and commercial firepower. And Marbella was a strange mixture of wild, dangerous party town for the masses, and exclusive private retreat for the billionaire club.

What did you think of the party lifestyle in Las Vegas? Was it the kind of life you could see yourself living?

It’s non-stop, crazy, but incredible fun. If you go there with a certain amount of money that you’re prepared to lose on having a great time, be that on gambling, girls, booze or shows, then it’s got to be the perfect escape place. But just be careful you don’t start slamming that credit card chasing your losses…

What was it like meeting Sly Stallone?

Sly flew in from Los Angeles especially to be interviewed by me, which was fantastic. We’re old friends from when I was The Sun’s showbiz reporter, and he was a brilliant interviewee. He’s been going to Vegas for 40 years and loves it, though as you will see he’s a terrible gambler.

Do you think Vegas will change, as the developers of MGM City believe? Or do you think the major appeal is the sin of Sin City?

I think they’re taking one hell of a gamble by trying to clean the place up. Part of the great appeal of Vegas is that it’s naughty.

What did you think of Marbella? Is it somewhere you would visit on holiday?

It was another mad party-town, full of exotic characters – gangsters, hookers, playboys, celebrities and Brits. All having a lot of fun. It was glamorous, sexy, and a little bit dangerous. So yes, my kind of place!

Were you shocked by the crime stories you heard?

Very. I knew it had a dodgy reputation, but there are a lot of bodies buried in the hills over Marbella, and the sheer scale of gun-running, prostitution, gangland violence and murder amazed me.

Had you visited China before? What did you think of the Communist ruling of the country and the fact that Youtube, Twitter etc are inaccessible?

No, but it’s an incredible place. Huge, dynamic, and bursting out of communism into a new capitalist world at full tilt. The old government officials are trying to control things like the internet, but from what I saw, they can’t. The youth can get all that Twitter stuff on their mobile phones or through internet proxies, so they’re ahead of the game. The Chinese are on the march, and we’d all better wake up to that fact.

What did you make of the generation of twenty-somethings, resulting from the one child policy?

In Shanghai, they’re recently moved to a two child policy so like everything else in China, the old barriers are crashing down as they hurtle towards Westernisation. But they’re very smart people, and know there are dangers in relaxing things too much.

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