Opera on the beach: Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate backs push to revive Coolangatta event

A revival of the popular opera on the beach event has been proposed as part of a widespread push to ramp up the Gold Coast’s cultural tourism credentials. FIND OUT MORE

Opera on the beach was performed twice in the 2010s. Picture Mike Batterham

Mayor Tom Tate wants to bring back opera on the beach as part of the city’s new cultural tourism push.

The event, last staged on Coolangatta beach nearly a decade ago, was a big crowd-pleaser which drew tens of thousands of people to the city for the unique experience.

There are hopes Opera Australia can be enticed to bring it back again.

Mr Tate said he hoped to secure a performance of the famed 1875 Georges Bizet opera of Carmen, which he anticipated would bring in an audience of at least 10,000 people.

“My hope is to attract more events to the Gold Coast but the challenge is to do it right,” he said.

“Well, the cat’s out of the bag because I would love to start planning to host opera on the beach in 2026.

Mayor Tom Tate wants to revive opera on the beach.

“We had the Magic Flute and then we had Aida which got us pyramids on the beach, so the next one I reckon should be Carmen because that would pack out the house.

“Everyone already knows the music so we can adapt it and use lifeguards because we’re doing it on the beach.”

Opera on the Beach was previously staged as part of the Bleach festival.

More than 10,000 people attended the inaugural 2014 event when The Magic Flute was performed on Coolangatta Beach.

Opera Australia’s artistic director Lyndon Terracini and The Mayor of the City of Gold Coast Tom Tate riding camels Daisy and Sid to promote a performance of Aida on Coolangatta Beach. Picture: Jerad Williams

It returned again in late 2017 with a performance of Aida and at the time was tipped to become a biennial attraction.

However, like many other events, the Covid pandemic saw a return shelved.

Mr Tate said a return of opera would fit well in the city’s events schedule alongside the annual Pacific Airshow, which attracts more than 250,000 people across three days.

“We got 10,000 people the first time and I think we’d get a similar number this time and it would be great for the night-time economy because people can go and get dinner beforehand,” he said.

A performance during the 2017 season.

“Walking on the sand to watch opera is not something you can do anywhere else in the world so we should make this our own again and it’s time we do it.”

Mr Tate’s call comes after Experience Gold Coast’s budget was given a $6m funding boost, with a mandate to chase more events, including boosting cultural tourism.

Key targets it was given in 2024 included luring “world-class” international music acts, major sporting events and top-level exhibitions for the Home of the Arts (HOTA) gallery.