Sir Elton’s Yellow Brick Road leads to the Sunshine Coast!

Grab your oversized glasses and sequined jackets and prepare to paint the town yellow and pink - Sir Elton John is coming to the Sunshine Coast!

The global superstar will bring his Farewell Yellow Brick Road World Tour to Sunshine Coast Stadium on Tuesday March 3 next year.

Sunshine Coast Council Acting Mayor Tim Dwyer said the council-supported event was expected to attract a sell-out crowd of 20,000, making it one of the biggest events on the Australian leg of the legendary singer’s swansong tour.

“What an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this is for the Sunshine Coast to have one of the world’s most famous and celebrated musical superstars in Sir Elton coming here to perform live at Sunshine Coast Stadium,” Cr Dwyer said.

“What makes this concert even more significant and special is that it will be the second last performance on the Australian leg of Sir Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, so this will be the final chance a lot of people have to see one of the most famous musicians of the 20th century.

“Council has worked extremely hard for a long time to secure this landmark opportunity and we’re so excited that our residents will now have the chance to see none other than Sir Elton perform live here at Sunshine Coast Stadium on March 3, 2020.”

Promoter and Executive Chairman of Chugg Entertainment Michael Chugg said the Sunshine Coast would be treated to the full Sir Elton experience.

“The Sunshine Coast should get ready to welcome one hell of a showman in March next year, as the very first international artist to ever perform at Sunshine Coast Stadium,” Mr Chugg said.

“Demand for these shows has been absolutely incredible. We haven’t had a ticket available in Queensland for months. Everything sold out within days. So we’re encouraging fans to get in quickly as we don’t think tickets will last long come on-sale day.”

Tickets for the concert will go on sale to the general public at ticketek.com.au from noon on Tuesday, June 25. A ticket pre-sale will also be available for Telstra customers from noon on June 18.

Tourism, Sport and Major Events Portfolio Councillor Jason O’Pray said attracting Sir Elton John to the Sunshine Coast was a tremendous show of faith in our region as one of Australia’s premier event destinations.

“Wow, what an extraordinary day this is for the Sunshine Coast! To have none other than Sir Elton John agree to come here on March 3 next year and perform one of his final concerts on Australian soil at Sunshine Coast Stadium is an incredible achievement,” Cr O’Pray said.

“This is proof of the value the Sunshine Coast Major Events Strategy is delivering for our region. This strategy has put in place a framework to make the Sunshine Coast the premier regional events destination in Australia, where major events deliver maximum results for our community and our economy.

“It doesn’t get much bigger than Sir Elton. We’ll have 20,000 people at Sunshine Coast Stadium and between now and March 3, 2020 we’ll be working overtime with local business and tourism operators to ensure we absolutely maximise the economic and social benefits that this event can deliver for the Sunshine Coast community.

“We’ve got game changer projects and this is a game changer event for our region. While it will deliver around $1.5 million in economic benefits according to our very early estimates, the position and profile a Sir Elton concert can provide our region nationally and internationally has the potential to open the door for more major global acts to perform here.”

In his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, the songs from Elton John’s legendary 50-year career will be showcased against a backdrop of never-before-seen images and videos, brand new stage production, along with a tour wardrobe designed by Italian fashion house Gucci.

He will be joined by longstanding band members Nigel Olsson on drums (part of Elton’s original three-piece band in 1970), esteemed musical director Davey Johnstone (who first recorded with Elton in 1971 and joined the band a year later) on guitar, virtuoso Ray Cooper on percussion, Matt Bissonette on bass, John Mahon on percussion, and Kim Bullard on keyboards.

Garnering rave reviews at sell-out shows across North America, Elton John’s curtain call will be the last chance to catch this legendary performer touring in Australia.

For more information about the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, visit http://oznz.eltonjohn.com .

About Sir Elton John

Elton’s career achievements to date are unsurpassed in their breadth and longevity. Elton is one of the top-selling solo artists of all time, with 26 gold, 38 platinum and multi-platinum albums and 1 diamond album, over 50 Top 40 hits, and he has sold more than 300 million records worldwide. He holds the record for the biggest-selling single of all time, “Candle in the Wind 1997”, which sold over 33 million copies. ‘Diamonds’ the Ultimate Greatest Hits album, reached the Top 5 of the UK album charts on its release in November 2017, becoming Elton’s 40th UK Top 40 album in the process. This release celebrated 50 years of his songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin. August 2018 saw Elton named as the most successful male solo artist in Billboard Hot 100 chart history, having logged 67 entries, including nine No.1s and 27 Top 10s.

Elton announced the ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour at New York’s Gotham Hall in January 2018. Encompassing 5 continents, and over 300 dates, this 3-year-long tour started in September 2018 and marks his retirement from touring after more than 50 years on the road. In May 2019 it was named Billboard's Top Rock Tour. To date, Elton has delivered more than 4,000 performances in more than 80 countries since launching his first tour in 1970. 2019 has already seen the release of 'Rocketman', a fantasy musical motion picture of his life and his autobiography 'Me' will be published later in the year.

Among the many awards and honours bestowed upon him are six GRAMMYs, including a GRAMMY Legend award, a Tony and an Oscar, a Best British Male Artist BRIT Award, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Kennedy Center Honor, Legend of Live Award, 13 Ivor Novello Awards between 1973 and 2001 and a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for “services to music and charitable services.”

In 1992, Elton established the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which today is one of the leading non-profit HIV/AIDS organizations and has raised over $400 million to date in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.