Outstanding effort to lure music legend to the Coast

In what is a huge coup for the Sunshine Coast, it was announced yesterday that Sir Elton John will be playing at the Sunshine Coast Stadium next year

Elton John is coming to the Sunshine Coast, performing at the stadium next year. Picture: Ben Gibson

OPINION: Sunshine Coast Business Awards chair Jennifer Swaine

IN WHAT is a huge coup for the Sunshine Coast, it was announced yesterday that Sir Elton John will be playing at the Sunshine Coast Stadium next year on Tuesday, March 3 as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.

Elton kicked off this three-year long tour in September last year, which will include five continents, performing more than 300 times.

With an expected crowd of 20,000 people this will be the first time the Sunshine Coast will host an international act of this size and is an outstanding opportunity for interstate visitors to experience all the Sunshine Coast has to offer.

And the economic benefits from this event will be felt across the whole region in the lead-up to, and just after, this concert which will attract intrastate and interstate visitors who will be encouraged to stay longer than a day or two.

Kudos to the many people who have been instrumental in making this happen, including the Sunshine Coast Council and the Economic Development team who have worked tirelessly to help bring a world-class act of this size to play in our own backyard - I am sure it cannot have been an easy task.

While this is great news for the region it is now up to all of us to also do our part.

We know it's on in March and we know that there will be logistics we have to deal with, so we need to plan ahead.

Let us as a community and a region be judged on how we welcome others, how we embrace this event and work around the logistics.

Let us be known for the welcoming community we are.

We need to give great service with a smile; we need to be positive about the event and work together to overcome any perceived challenges because the good it will do for our region far outweighs any negatives.

And for those who no doubt will think this is an inconvenience - a bigger inconvenience is not having a job, or to live in a region where there is no growth and no prospects.

This is another outstanding result for our region so let's all play our part in ensuring it succeeds and let it be the precedent for future events just like it.

Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, June 25.