NRL 2023: Bold plan for ‘Australia Week’ festival headlined by U2 at 2024 Las Vegas season launch

As the NRL closes in on a historic season launch in Las Vegas, with Peter V’landys confirming discussions are underway for Irish rock band U2 to headline an rugby league festival.

The NRL is planning a week long celebration ahead of the 2024 season launch in Las Vegas.

The ARL Commission has hatched plans for one of the biggest festivals in the code’s history by staging “Australia Week” — an NRL Expo in America to celebrate their double-header debut in Las Vegas next season.

ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys is in talks with American authorities to deliver one of the most significant global celebrations of Australian culture since Brisbane’s world-famous Expo in 1988.

“It will be an Australian NRL Expo, absolutely,” V’landys said.

V’landys is in the final stages of formalising a deal for the NRL to kick-off their 2024 season in Las Vegas, with a formal announcement expected later this week.

The NRL is planning Australia Week as part of their trip to Las Vegas next year, similar to the world-famous Brisbane Expo in 1988.

As part of rugby league‘s bold incursion into the American market, which can net $200 million in betting-and-broadcasting deals, it can be revealed:

• The NRL will host ‘Australia Week’ — a week-long festival in which rugby league takes over Las Vegas;

• V‘landys is in talks for Irish rock mega band U2 to be part of the NRL’s Vegas celebration;

• Legendary actor Hugh Jackman has been sounded out as an Australia Week ambassador;

• Rugby league‘s double header will form the centrepiece of an Australia sports bonanza featuring boxing and UFC events;

• A dedicated entertainment precinct will showcase Australian bands, artists and performers;

• The nation‘s best chefs will be hired for an Australian food-and-wine spectacular; and

• The NRL will rubberstamp a five-year plan for a total of 10 premiership matches in Vegas, featuring all 17 teams, until the end of 2028.

Boxing and UFC events will be part of an NRL Expo sporting spectacular in Vegas next year.

V’landys confirmed the NRL is going to Sin City next season and said rugby league’s double-headers at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium are only one element of a wider cultural blockbuster showcasing the best of Australia to Americans.

“Vegas will go ahead,” he said. “I believe in the next two weeks it will be sorted, we are very close ... it could be announced by the end of the week.

“It (their double-header plan) has now gone from being a three-day event to a whole week promoting Australia.

“We are talking to a number of parties and the more we speak, the more it‘s becoming Australia Week in Vegas.

The NRL wants to make Vegas the scene of a week-long Australian cultural festival.

“We want to make this an annual event ... it will be the biggest promotion of Australian culture in the US.”

V‘landys said primary due diligence on the NRL taking games to Las Vegas has triggered a tidal wave of interest in a multifaceted celebration of Australian culture.

“We are talking with Las Vegas tourism right now and they are keen on supporting us with Australia Week,” V’landys said.

“If we get it going, it will be massive.

“U2 are going to be playing for three months in Las Vegas next year and we have had meetings to get them to be part of our festival.

“It’s the perfect timing for our Australian NRL Expo because it’s in between sports in America, so the full focus will be on us in that week.

“We can have boxing and UFC events with Australians competing and we have discussed having top-line Australian artists performing in concerts.

“We’ll also be promoting Australian food and wine.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo (left) and ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys visited Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium last month.

“We’ve had a stack of parties contacting us – not the other way around – because they can see the potential of Australia Week.

“It has unlimited potential to be the major event in the US every year to promote Australia and the NRL will be the headline partner.

“The first year is always the hardest because you are starting out, but in the following years, it will get easier.

“We’re hoping to make Australia Week in Vegas one of the biggest events of our sporting calendar.”

A number of NRL teams are keen to be part of the historic Vegas trip.

Reece Walsh and his Brisbane Broncos are likely to be one of the four teams playing in a Vegas double header to launch the 2024 NRL season.

The Brisbane Broncos are expected to be among the first four pioneers in 2024, while two-time premiers Penrith, Melbourne, South Sydney and the Roosters are other frontline candidates.

“It will be magnificent,” V’landys said of the NRL double header at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.

“Anyone that stands still goes backwards in the end and we need to look at these different initiatives to grow the game.

“There are 330 million people in America and if we get one per cent of their betting market, it‘s an enormous revenue stream for the game.”

Originally published as NRL 2023: Bold plan for ‘Australia Week’ festival headlined by U2 at 2024 Las Vegas season launch