Australasia News: Minogue, Coldplay Hot Tickets; QLD Nightlife Commission; NZ: WOMAD Initial Artists

AUSTRALIA

Demand Hot For Kylie Minogue, Coldplay

The strong consumer demand for top-end shows continued with Kylie Minogue and Coldplay.

Strong pre-sales had Frontier Touring adding three shows to Minogue’s “Tension Tour,” bringing the tally to 10.

She now does a third stop at Melbourne’s 14,500-seat Rod Laver Arena (Feb. 22), a second at Brisbane’s 11,000-seat Entertainment Centre (Feb. 27) and a third at Sydney’s 21,000-capacity Qudos Bank Arena (March 3).

The “Tension Tour” is the 56-year old singer’s first Australian test since her “Padam Padam” 2023 hit brought her to the attention of the TikTok generation and nearly half a billion streams. It is expected to outdraw 2011’s “Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour” which locally moved 88,990 sales.

Minogue was to have been a headliner at the Splendour In The Grass festival mid-year before 50,000 but the event was cancelled.

Live Nation released extra seats for Coldplay’s Australian and New Zealand run of the “Music Of The Spheres World Tour,” to kick off Oct. 30.

The British band is playing four shows at Melbourne’s 53,000-seat Marvel Stadium, four at Sydney’s 82,000-capacity Accor Stadium and three at Auckland’s 50,000-seat Eden Park. The Auckland show was a one-off until over 200,000 waited in the digital pre-sale queue.

In November 2023 Coldplay played two sell-outs to a record 130,000 at Perth’s Optus Stadium, as a tourism initiative for Western Australia.

For a reported A$8 million ($5.52 million), they flew from Singapore. With 40,000 of the crowd from outside the state, the shows generated A$68 million ($46.9 million) in new tourism dollars according to the state government.

Inaugural Night Life Commissioner For Qld

The Queensland government appointed high-profile venue operator and musician John Collins its inaugural Night Life Economy Commissioner.

Aside from co-owning Bris-bane clubs Fortitude Valley Music Hall and the Triffid, the one-time Powderfinger bassist is vice president of music association QMusic, a board member of the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, and was a key lobbyist for government intervention during the COVID-19 shutdown.

He will work with venues, festivals, hospitality businesses and arts outlets to source ideas and boost the night economy, and develop partnerships to encourage growth of thousands of businesses and events.

He will also advise how the government can support nightlife especially for when the 2023 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics brings an estimated 100,000 tourists.

Collins earlier told Pollstar that two priorities were to review compulsory ID scanning and more late-night public transport.

The government also announced A$1.6 million ($1.1 million) in funding so venues can diversify business opportunities, offset operational costs, and grants to pay acts to play.

NEW ZEALAND

WOMAD Announces First Artists For 2025

UK genre-defying Nitin Sawhney, who pulled out of WOMAD Aotearoa (NZ) 2024 at the last minute when a medical emergency stopped him from flying, is in the first round for 2025.

Also named for the March 14-16 event were Trinidad and Tobago singer Queen Omega; Australia’s folktronica act with Colombian roots, Amaru Tribe; and NZ rock band The Veils which plans a collaboration with classical musicians.

In 2024, WOMAD Aotearoa celebrated its 21st anniversary with 40,000 attending, 49% of them out-of-towners.