Stadium shows are returning to Australia and New Zealand, but not for another year.
On Thursday (Nov. 19), Guns N’ Roses announced an eight-date tour of Australasia, kicking off Nov. 6 at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast.
Presented by TEG Dainty, a division of the TEG Group, the trek then moves on to Adelaide Oval, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sydney’s ANZ Stadium and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
The production then heads east for two dates in New Zealand, at Sky Stadium in Wellington, and Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, then returns to Australia for a final, Nov. 24 concert at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
The stadium tour announcement is the first of its kind since the COVID-19 pandemic grounded flights and closed borders in March.
“Announcing an international tour of this magnitude as we come out of the most challenging year in the history of live entertainment is truly gratifying,” comments Paul Dainty, president & CEO of TEG Dainty.
“We’re all eager to return to business as usual,” he continues, “and who better to lead the charge into international stadium touring than the mighty Guns N’ Roses.”
The classic line-up of Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan will make the long haul, as they did for the Not In This Lifetime stadium tour of these parts in 2017.
General tickets are available from Thursday, Nov. 26.
The GNR jaunt is organized by the team behind the Greatest Southern Nights shows, scheduled to take place later this month and early December at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, and featuring an all-Australian lineup.
Speaking to Billboard ahead of the announcement, Geoff Jones, CEO of TEG, parent company of Ticketek, TEG Dainty and Qudos Bank Arena, says Australia, with its solid COVIDSafe protocols and low rates of confirmed infections, was in the box seat to restart the touring economy.
“Because of the way government and federal and state level have approached the pandemic, we should be in a position to lead the world,” Jones explains. The next step, is how to get international acts into the market. “We’ll certainly put a few international acts on sale in the next little while, for late next year,” he notes, with Guns N’ Roses the first major announcement. “We definitely need to be giving the indication that this industry is not lying down.”
Guns N’ Roses 2021 Tour of Australia and New Zealand
Nov. 6 — Gold Coast, Metricon Stadium
Nov. 9 — Adelaide Oval
Nov. 11 — Melbourne Cricket Ground
Nov. 14 – Sydney, ANZ Stadium
Nov. 16 – Brisbane, Suncorp Stadium
Nov. 19 – Wellington, Sky Stadium
Nov. 21 — Dunedin, Forsyth Barr Stadium
Nov. 24 — Perth, Optus Stadium