Adele Brisbane transport chaos is news to us, say promoters

PROMOTERS of award-winning singer Adele’s tour claim to have been blindsided by warnings of transport chaos ahead of her Brisbane shows after spending months organising them with Brisbane City Council.

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PROMOTERS of award-winning singer Adele’s tour claim to have been blindsided by warnings of transport chaos ahead of her Brisbane shows after spending months organising them with Brisbane City Council.

But the council claims it has been left to sort out a public transport mess after no one consulted councillors prior to the Gabba being booked for one of the biggest events in Queensland’s history.

About 60,000 people are expected to fill the Gabba to see Adele. Picture: Lester Cohen/Getty Images for NARAS

Live Nation Australia vice president Luke Hede said he was “flabbergasted” to learn it could take patrons up to three hours on buses to get to the shows next month.

“Given the amount of planning we’ve put into these shows, we’re shocked to read the papers this morning saying that council has not been consulted about this, because we have been working on this for over six months with the Gabba,” Mr Hede said.

About 60,000 people are expected to fill the stadium, which was chosen because it could host a “concert in the round”, to watch the Grammy Award-winning artist on March 4 and 5.

The Saturday March 4 show sold out after it was announced in January but there are about 2000 tickets left to the Sunday night performance after it was added to meet massive demand. The shows are larger than any sporting event ever held in the 42,000-seat capacity venue because about another 18,000 tickets have been sold for standing room.

Mr Hede, who was the promoter behind the Coldplay tour that saw 50,000 people pack Suncorp Stadium, said organisers had been working with the council since September last year to create a transport strategy that included free buses paid for in the cost of the ticket price.

“It’s up to council now to deliver that because the patrons have paid for it,” Mr Hede said.

But Brisbane Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner said if there was consultation with the council prior to the venue being chosen, he would have suggested Suncorp Stadium as more appropriate.

“We weren’t exactly happy to hear it was at the Gabba,” Cr Schrinner said, “but obviously we’re doing our best to deal with that situation as a contractor to the event organisers”.

BCC Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Cr Schrinner suggested previously that patrons should leave two or three hours early to allow enough time for travel to the three-hour shows.

Almost 400 shuttle buses will be needed to transport patrons to and from the venue, with a mix of council and private-contracted services used to meet the demand. The increased services are also expected to put a strain on bus drivers, who have been asked to volunteer for paid shifts over the weekend. However, Cr Schrinner said drivers needed a 10-hour break between shifts, which could cause rostering issues on Monday.

Cr Schrinner said Suncorp Stadium was better equipped to deal with large crowds. “There’s a plan in place that we use on a regular basis to get crowds in and out of Suncorp,” Cr Schrinner said. “There’s a dedicated bus station under Suncorp. There’s also a train station right next to it.”

TransLink said it had boosted services to cope with demand, and motorists were advised to avoid the area.