Robbie Williams announced as headline act for 2023 Valo Adelaide 500

The Victoria Park crowd will roar to life once more in late 2023, as the Supercars season finale secures a world-class entertainer for the after-race concert.

• Mega gallery: Adelaide 500 action

UK megastar Robbie Williams has been announced as the headline act for next year’s Adelaide 500 after the roaring success of the revived race.

Less than 24 hours after 260,000 people flocked to the city circuit, Premier Peter Malinauskas announced on Monday that Williams would take the stage on November 26, 2023.

With a catalogue of hits spanning more than 20 years, Williams said he was thrilled to be returning Down Under after delighting crowds in Melbourne at the AFL Grand Final earlier this year.

“Australia is one of my favourite places in the world to tour,” Williams said.

“I feel so at home there and hugely appreciate the warm, loving welcome I always receive.”

Mr Malinauskas said the announcement cemented the success of Supercars’ return to Adelaide.

“We made a commitment to not only bring back the great race that is the Adelaide 500, but also make it an event which will bring our events sector roaring back to life,” he said.

Robbie Williams will headline next year’s Adelaide 500 race. Picture by Michael Klein

Broc Feeney celebrates his Adelaide 500 win. Photo: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

The Victoria Park circuit will remain the grand finale of next year’s Supercars season after Mr Malinauskas’ political gamble paid off in a fairytale weekend for racing – and music – fans.

This year’s overall Supercars champion, New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, thrilled a huge crowd of Holden enthusiasts by doing burnouts in his Commodore ZB to celebrate, while young Gold Coast driver Broc Feeney won Sunday’s race in extreme heat.

Having watched the first part of Sunday’s race with his family in a grandstand rented from the Melbourne GP, Mr Malinauskas paid tribute to the hardworking team which delivered the event from a cold start in May.

“When we started to get a lot of wet weather I started getting worried when it looked like we were falling behind in schedule but (SA Motorsport Board chief executive) Mark Warren and his team did an absolutely amazing job,” he said.

“They got it done without compromising the quality.”

However, questions remain over whether the event came in under its $22m budget, as organisers continue to settle outstanding credits with suppliers.

Mr Warren was unable to say whether the event remain within budget.

“It was definitely a tougher challenge this year, bring(ing) it back for the first time given all the infrastructure we needed to bring back,” he said.

Mr Malinauskas said this year’s event generated almost 60 per cent greater revenue than the last Adelaide 500, which occurred during the pandemic in 2020 but was unable to provide details on whether the investment saw any return.

Peter Malinauskas is celebrating a political win following the success of the revived Adelaide 500 event. Photo: Daniel Kalisz / Getty Images

He called the fiscal outcome “a very strong result”, with corporate revenue in particular elevated compared to previous years.

“I think that speaks to the investment confidence that exists in the state at the moment, but also the fact that there is an increasing amount of interest from people around the country in doing business in South Australia,” Mr Malinauskas said.

When asked about how many people bought tickets and how many were given away for free, the Premier said “the overwhelming majority of people do buy tickets, but people do get allocations of tickets through corporate sponsorships and team owners”.

“That‘s why we look at the dollars … to have that dollar figure up over 60 per cent is really crucial,” he said.

The official crowd for the four-day event was 258,200, with tickets sold at 2012 prices.

Tickets for 2023’s Adelaide 500 can be purchased on Tuesday for the same prices as this year until December 31st, before prices increase.