Queen coup sends Coast into rhapsody
THE Gold Coast had to “put a good case forward” to become Queen’s final stop on what organisers say may be their last Australian tour.
The rock legends, fronted by Adam Lambert, will bring their Bohemian Rhapsody tour to Carrara’s Metricon Stadium on February 29.
It is understood the Gold Coast venue was chosen instead of a second Brisbane show.
Gold Coast Suns CEO Mark Evans said they had to push hard for the concert to be held at Metricon.
“If you hold two concerts at the one venue you understand the cost of that,” he said.
“So we had to ... show that we would fill the stadium, and then help with all the logistics and contingencies needed to bring the concert to the stadium.
“It was a massive relief (when it was locked in) because of the amount of work that’s gone into this, not just from the Suns and Metricon but from the council and Paul Dainty.”
The “larger than life” production is expected to sell out to a crowd of 35,000.
Concert promoter Mr Dainty said the Gold Coast can efficiency would bring a “fresh city and fresh audience” to his company’s touring circuit.
“When it came time to decide on that we had a long, hard think about it, and I said we should really do it with Queen,” he said.
“It’s been years since Foo Fighters were here, and I think you can almost forget that, it’s like starting over.
“If we were going to do it we wanted to bring one of the biggest acts in the world, nothing division two.”
The group will start their tour in Brisbane before travelling around Australia and finishing up on the Gold Coast.
Mr Dainty said a number of factors had drawn him to Metricon, including a visit several years ago which left him “very impressed”.
“I think it’s very fanfriendly, it’s clean, it’s wellpresented, it’s wellmanaged,” he said. “You get a feel where you walk in somewhere, I get an instinct straight away and can visualise how an event’s going to work.”
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the concert will mark a “new era” for Gold Coast entertainment.
“With Queen you’re getting the biggest act in the world, that’s a statement,” he said.
“I have no doubt that Queen fans will go and see both shows, because 70km away, a fortnight apart, I reckon you can do another dose of Queen. That’s what I’ll be doing.”
IF WE WERE GOING TO DO IT WE WANTED TO BRING ONE OF THE BIGGEST ACTS IN THE WORLD, NOTHING DIVISION TWO