Elton’s QLD shows to test tourism, Darwin demands visit

Elton John’s two North Queensland shows in Mackay and Cairns will serve as a litmus test for the region’s tourism draw.

According to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, the two shows will draw over 24,000 fans collectively – with 5,000 of those coming from interstate and abroad, injecting $7.5 million to the state economy.

Seven months out for the dates, the Mackay and Cairns councils are working with Tourism and Events Queensland on initiatives that will encourage out-of-towners to stay on an extra few days after the concerts to check out the local attractions and generate more tourism revenue.

New initiatives are being explored to make this happen. Promoter Chugg Entertainment is putting together travel packages and inviting local bus services to get involved.

Mackay, which is relying more on tourism and the sugar industry as mining royalties dip, is also working with Mackay event management company Red Hot Blue’s RedEvents division (Nude Lunch, Twilight Festival) to spawn ideas.

Cairns Mayor Bob Manning said, “We are striving to make Cairns the arts and culture capital of Northern Australia and the opportunity to host this major music event will allow us to showcase our city as an arts destination.”

Although Townsville missed out on the tour, the city is planning ahead. Its mayor gave promoter Michael Chugg a personal briefing on the entertainment that will be available at the North Queensland Stadium when it is completed in 2020.

Townsville Enterprise Tourism & Events also secured Chugg as a guest speaker when it launched its list of events in the region through 2017, hoping to encourage him to spin more major concerts up North Queensland’s way in the future.

Ten years ago, Chugg was contemplating a new concert touring circuit which would include North Queensland and Northern Territory towns with key Asian cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Manila.

In the meantime, Darwin has started an online petition to get Elton John to play there.

It is being spearheaded by the NT News, which says a similar campaign that worked to get the piano thumper to the TIO Stadium in 2008 with around 5,000 signing the petition and the NT Government throwing $60,000 into the pot.

Apparently Darwin was considered for this round but was ultimately dropped from the schedule for “logistical” reasons. For the 2008 concert, the stage was supplied by Brisbane, the seats from Perth and the production from Sydney, in an effort to accommodate 14,000