Elton John thrills Townsville ‘tiny dancers’ as he officially opens the Queensland Country Bank Stadium
Elton John made history over the weekend officially opening the Queensland Country Bank Stadium surrounded by 20,000 ‘tiny dancers’.
Townsville
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ELTON John made history at the weekend officially opening the Queensland Country Bank Stadium surrounded by 20,000 tiny dancers.
Concertgoers were dressed in their crocodile rock best including boas, star glasses and flamboyant shirts to say farewell to one of the greatest British musicians in history.
Gracing the stage at 7.30pm sharp, Elton played 25 of his greatest hits part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
Elton will hang up his disco boots after almost six decades in the business and selling more than 300 million records.
People of all ages made sure to snap up tour merchandise and most didn’t mind waiting in the long lines for the bar.
Mitchell James bought his second row field seating ticket last September and said the atmosphere was electric.
“There were a few drunk people on the field but everyone was pretty well-behaved,” he said.
“People in the moshpit area were dancing and enjoying themselves the entire time.”
Mr James said he was on a high from Elton’s performance and the christening of the stadium.
“Elton was amazing, I absolutely loved him and I was just blown away,” he said.
“The stadium is amazing and it looked awesome and it is easy to get in and out of.”
Many people hung back at the conclusion of the concert to admire the magnificent structure that took two and half years to build, costing about $290 million.
A few keen footy fans even posed for pictures with the Johnathan Thurston bronze statute that adorns the entrance.
As fans departed the stadium and poured into north Townsville streets and crossed bridges in to the heart of the city, businesses welcomed the extra foot traffic.
The TapHouse Townsville manager Dave Hinnrichs said business had been phenomenal.
“It was nuts basically, we expected it to be busy but we didn’t expect it to be that busy and from 4-7pm, I reckon we had one of our busiest three hours ever,” he said.
“We weren’t sure if people would come back after the concert but we were pleasantly surprised and a large majority of people came back to continue their night.”
Mr Hinnrichs said it was hard to keep up with the flow of drink orders.
“We basically were running out of glasses it was just that busy. The line for the bar was four people deep,” he said.
“I think we got a few new customers who probably have not come out to the city on Saturday night.”
The business is hoping the momentum continues with the upcoming football season about to begin at the stadium on March 13.
Originally published as Elton John thrills Townsville ‘tiny dancers’ as he officially opens the Queensland Country Bank Stadium