Guns N’ Roses Gold Coast concert: Everything you need to know

In a major coup for the city, American superstars Guns N’ Roses will kick off a tour of Australian stadiums next year on the Gold Coast. HERE’S HOW TO GET TICKETS

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IN the resounding return of stadium rock, one of the greatest bands of all time will kick off its Australian tour on the Gold Coast.

Guns N’ Roses, featuring founding frontman Axl Rose, original bassist Duff McKagan and lead guitar icon Slash, will play Metricon Stadium on November 6 before hitting capital cities.

Guns N’ Roses made our collective rock and roll dreams come true with 2017’s Not In This Lifetime, now they’re bound for our paradise city.

It’s the first major tour announcement since COVID-19 pressed pause on touring and a show of faith from one of the world’s most influential promoters, TEG DAINTY president and CEO Paul Dainty.

“Announcing an international tour of this magnitude as we come out of the most challenging year in the history of live entertainment is truly gratifying,” Mr Dainty said.

“We’re all eager to return to business and I am thrilled to restart major stadium events in Australia with one of the biggest bands in the world, kicking off in the Gold Coast at one of Australia’s best venues, Metricon Stadium.

“We’re trailblazing with what we’re doing in Australia and this is huge news in the music industry.

“I think this is going to also be big international news for touring markets like the UK and America who’ll be looking closely at Australia.”

Tickets go on sale next Thursday and are expected to be snapped up in record time by fans with an “unprecedented appetite for live music”.

They aren’t going to be the only ones knocking on music heaven’s door.

Guns N Roses on stage. Picture: Supplied.

“Gold Coast hotels, airlines, venues, catering companies – hopefully this is going to put a smile on a lot of people’s faces,” Mr Dainty said.

“We just decided we have to kickstart the industry with a mega global band.

“I approached Guns N’ Roses and we’d been talking on and off for a while about them coming back (after 2017’s Not In This Lifetime tour).

“The last time was so phenomenal – the shows were great, the fans loved it.

“It was not a small endeavour; hundreds of people, emails, calls. It took a few months of negotiations to pull together.”

The Gunners’ first Gold Coast gig will be an entirely new production.

“People will be blown away – they do a spectacular show,” Mr Dainty said.

“They play for at least 2.5 hours, often longer.

“The seating plan will be close to what it was for Queen and Adam Lambert, with 85 per cent of the stadium seated and a small standing area right at the front for really hardcore fans.”

Mr Dainty credited the Gold Coast’s thunderous reception of Queen in February for the concert coup.

Queen’s Metricon Stadium gig in February proved the stadium’s mettle. Photo: Jason O'Brien

“We had such a wonderful experience with Queen at Metricon – we loved the stadium, and sales and the response from crowd put it top of mind,” he said.

“I just really enjoyed the look, the feel and the ambience of the venue.

“That feels like an eternity ago, but I said on the night, ‘We’ve got to come back with other artists’, and here we are.”

While border uncertainty has crippled Australia’s event calendar, Mr Dainty said he was “very positive” we would be in a good position by November.

“We’re pretty conservative and we wouldn’t be locking it in unless we were confident we could deliver a brilliant, safe environment,” he said.

“Australian is leading the way globally in the way we’ve dealt with Covid.

“We’ve talked to all the venues, all the authorities and taken their feedback on board.

“(Gold Coast city leaders) have been very responsive and enthusiastic.

“It helped us make a decision to come to the Gold Coast – when people are encouraging you want to work with them.”

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said the music megastars would catapult the Gold Coast on to the global stage.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Picture: Tertius Pickard.

“On behalf of all Coasters I say to Axl, Duff and Slash: welcome to our jungle,” he said.

“This band takes their music to not only the fans on the night but to a global audience of Gunners.

“Around the world, there are millions of Guns N’ Roses fans still as loyal today as they were in 1985.

“This group is an ideal mega attraction for our city, which will lift our spirits post a difficult 2020 and showcase the stadium and our magic city across the world.’’

Major Events Gold Coast CEO Jan McCormick said it was a coup for the Gold Coast to be the first city to welcome the Gunners back to Australia.

“I know fans will travel from right across the country just to be the first to see them LIVE and loud at Metricon Stadium,” she said.

“From a business perspective, it’s also fair to say that 2020 has rocked our local events industry to the very core, so this stadium event announcement gives us all a sign that we are ready to secure and deliver more major events on the Gold Coast.”

After the Gold Coast show on November 6, Guns N’ Roses will tour to Adelaide Oval on November 9, the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 11, Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on November 14 and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on November 16 before their final stop at Perth’s Optus Stadium on November 24.

Tickets go on sale on November 26 from 9am local time at Ticketek. Go to tegdainty.com for all ticketing and tour information.

A Telstra Plus member presale starts November 23 and is open until November 25.