The annual aftermath upsets the chief executive of the National Capital Authority, Gary Rake. He said the event was spoiled by a very small minority of the estimated 130,000 who attend.

''As soon as the technology advances and we can do idiot scanning, we will keep these patrons out,'' he said.

Canberra's early-morning joggers were confronted with the mess, which included overturned rubbish bins, some of which had been thrown some metres into the lake, and refuse which had not been put into bins.

Vandalism had also contributed to the mess. This included broken glass on the bicycle path and in the lake.

After last year's event, a spokesman for the Department of Territory and Municipal Services said more than 200 bins had been provided. But even with 400 bins, rubbish would be left on the ground.

Mr Rake said the organisers of Skyfire, Canberra FM Radio, owner of radio station 104.7, provided enough bins. Despite this, there was obviously a considerable cost to the organisers for the clean-up.

The greater the cost, the less that could be spent on the fireworks and entertainment. The authority would hate the clean-up cost to cause the organisers to cancel the event.

It was normal for the complete clean-up to take a couple of days. Then people would scarcely see an event had occurred.

For more on this story, see the print edition of today's Canberra Times.