AFL 2021 Grand Final parade scrapped in favour of Covid-safe event

The fan-favourite AFL Grand Final parade through Melbourne has been scrapped and replaced with this new event that’ll bar thousands from attending.

Footy’s traditional grand final parade through the streets of Melbourne has been scrapped in favour of a smaller Covid-safe event.

Plans are underway for the 2021 premiership cup to be presented to a capped number of fans inside Marvel Stadium on the Friday before the September 25 decider.

It comes amid a bold plan to get 100,000 fans into the MCG for this year’s big game, with calls to roll out rapid tests to allow the largest Australian crowd to gather since the beginning of the pandemic.

The grand final parade has been a Melbourne fixture since 1977, with the AFL keen to bring it back after it was cancelled last year when the game was moved north to Brisbane.

Under a working proposal, the parade would be a ticketed event that allowed thousands of fans inside Marvel Stadium to watch the premiership cup, players and coaches circle the oval.

Sources close to the planning said up to 20,000 could potentially be able to attend the event while appropriately socially distancing.

Thousands flock to the AFL Grand Final Parade in Melbourne every year.

In recent years, the Grand Final parade – where players from the two competing teams travel in a motorcade of open-top vehicles – has begun at the Old Treasury Building in the CBD, heading south down Spring St, east along Wellington Parade, and finishing at Yarra Park outside the MCG.

A street parade is not being considered for this year, with sources saying it was unworkable. An AFL spokesman said planning was well underway to deliver an event, with a formal proposal not yet submitted to the Department of Health or state government for approval.

“The AFL plans to deliver fans a grand final parade in the lead up to the AFL grand final,” he said. “As we continue to manage the Covid pandemic, we are yet to lock in what it all looks like and where it will be located.

“And we will continue to work closely with the state government on the appropriate health advice, ensuring the health and safety of the community continues to be the priority.”

A state government spokesman confirmed the AFL has begun preliminary discussions about the event.

A record crowd of 150,000 people attended the first public holiday parade in 2015.

“The grand final parade is an iconic Melbourne event but we know due to Covid there may be some changes to the usual program, depending on restrictions and public health advice.”

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said: “We look forward to working closely with the AFL to assist in delivering an event that showcases what’s great about our city and encourages people to come into the municipality to celebrate the last weekend in September.”

Up to 20,000 could potentially attend alternative event.

While Victoria is contracted to stage the grand final at the MCG until 2057, restrictions around footy crowds and public gatherings mean the match could yet be shifted interstate.

Perth’s Optus Stadium, with a capacity of more than 60,000, looms as the most likely option.

Last year’s premiership decider between Richmond and Geelong was held at the Gabba after Victorian AFL clubs fled to Queensland because of the state’s Covid-19 crisis.

Under a proposal to return capacity crowds to this year’s game pushed by Eddie McGuire, attendees would be required to get two Covid tests – a standard one on the Wednesday and a rapid antigen test on the Saturday.

A ring of steel would also be erected around the MCG precinct to give a “safety net” to fans, with ample room for social distancing and a carnival-type atmosphere.

Premier Daniel Andrews said he was determined to get crowds but said the notion of rapid testing wasn’t comparable to the “diamond standard” PCR test. “I can’t tell you how many people will be at the grand final but I’m determined to have people at the grand final,” Mr Andrews said.

The Premier wouldn’t speculate on whether he’d push to keep the game in Melbourne if it meant the game was played to empty stands.

Opposition major events spokeswoman Cindy McLeish said the government kept putting running major events in the”too hard basket”.

“Victorians need a new plan to get our events industry back on track in a Covid-safe way,” she said.