Partnership will see concerts staged at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium

A newly agreed Major Events Partnership between the City of Newcastle and Venues NSW will see international music star Elton John, perform at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium early next year.

With the two organisations ready to work together to attract major and international events to McDonald Jones Stadium and the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, this first event will see the British star perform on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour itinerary in January.

Initially scheduled to play a single concert at the Broadmeadow venue on Tuesday 10th January, “overwhelming demand in pre-sales" has seen Frontier Touring promoter Michael Chugg add a second show on Sunday 8th January.

Second shows for Elton John’s show have also been announced for Melbourne's AAMI Park on Saturday 14th January and at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Tuesday 17th January.

Looking forward to the venue’s 30,000 seats being filled twice over with locals and visitors, City of Newcastle Lord Mayor, Nuatali Nelmes said the Elton John concert was just one example of the diverse major events the new alliance was looking to achieve, advising “Newcastle is once again showing Australia and the world that we’re a global events city.

“Attracting one of the biggest names in music, Elton John, to play a stadium concert in front of thousands of cheering Novocastrians and tourists is fantastic.

“There was a time not so long ago that you would never imagine a name like Elton John playing in Newcastle.

“However, we’re on a cusp of a new era thanks to a strategic focus led by council attracting events, the backing of the local business and tourism industry, and Venues NSW expanding its vision beyond sports for McDonald Jones Stadium.

“City of Newcastle and Venues NSW have been working together to bring various major sporting events to Newcastle for years.

“Now, we’ve made this partnership official with the vision to attract events that are new, unexpected and will bring more visitors to the city.”

Venues NSW and McDonald Jones Stadium Chief Executive, Kerrie Mather added “we can’t wait to welcome Elton John to Newcastle as part of his Australian tour in what will be an unforgettable night for the region.

“We’re about to embark on the busiest concert season in NSW arguably ever, with Elton John to perform live in Newcastle and Sydney, while Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Guns N’ Roses, Harry Styles and Red Hot Chili Peppers are just some of the global superstars announced so far.

“This is an incredibly exciting result for Newcastle - and just a taste of the major events to come for the region.”

The City of Newcastle and Venues NSW previously delivered the Matildas’ match against the USA, and international rugby double-headers featuring the Wallabies, Argentina, South Africa and New Zealand.

However, the last time McDonald Jones Stadium hosted music was in February 1990 when a Midnight Oil-headed star-studded bill drew a sell-out crowd to raise $800,000 for the Newcastle Earthquake Recovery Concert.

McDonald Jones Stadium will also host the FOX Australian Supercross Championship’s AUSX Triple Crown on Saturday 26th November.

Also in Newcastle, the Victoria Theatre could fill the vacuum when the Cambridge Hotel closes next year as a premier live music venue to become student accommodation.

It was bought in 2015 by Sydney-based operator Century Venues (which owns the Enmore, Metro, Factory Theatres) which has slowly done renovations to make it a 900- capacity working venue.

However, last month the NSW Government contributed $4 million as part of the $72 million Create NSW Creative Capital Fund to see through stage one.

Images, top, from left: Venues NSW Group General Manager - Acquisition, Stephen Saunders; City of Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes, Elton John impersonator and McDonald Jones Stadium Venue Manager Dean Mantle, and McDonald Jones Stadium and the wider Hunter Sports and Entertainment Precinct (below).