Hillsong agrees to give Festival Hall back to live music

Hillsong has come to an agreement with a major music promoter to take over the lease of the iconic venue and bring it back to Aussie music fans.

Exclusive: Festival Hall is returning to Melbourne’s music scene as a live music venue.

Hillsong has come to an agreement with major music promoter Live Nation to take over the lease of the iconic venue.

Festival Hall, which has played host to The Beatles, was lost to Melbourne’s music scene when Hillsong purchased the building for $23 million in 2020.

There were plans to build another venue in the Docklands to replace the Festival Hall to allow local and international artists to play to crowds of 3000 people.

But Live Nation confirmed the signing of a multi-year lease on Friday afternoon.

“We are extremely excited to be delivering the next chapter of Festival Hall’s life, not only because it will help support the growing demand of shows that are coming down the pipeline across the industry, but also to put the iconic venue firmly back on the global live entertainment map,” Live Nation president Roger Field said.

“It’s a privilege to be part of an organisation that values the protection of existing heritage music assets and sees the importance that these venues play in the ongoing growth of the live entertainment sector and the communities they’re a part of.

“Our vision is to ensure that Festival Hall remains a cornerstone of the State’s live music scene for artists, industry, and fans alike”.

The deal comes after Hillsong was accused in Federal Parliament of misusing $15.7 million of tax deductible donations to purchase the venue.

The tax deductible donations were not eligible to be used for the purchase, Independent Federal MP Andrew Wilkie alleged under parliamentary privilege.

The disclosure came as a new podcast, Faith On Trial, produced by this newspaper, revealed claims that the church interrogated its college students about their sex lives and exploited young volunteers.

LISTEN TO THE FAITH ON TRIAL: HILLSONG PODCAST

Simone Schinkel, chief executive officer at Music Victoria, speaking before the announcement, said Festival Hall was the missing piece of Melbourne’s music scene.

“We believe that the industry would benefit from a venue with a capacity between 3000-5000,” she said.

“Festival Hall is simply not as accessible to the industry as it once was and there is a big jump from the Forum (with 2000 pax) to Kia Arena (with 5000 pax).

“Since the sale of Festival Hall, we’re missing that medium size venue and for a truly thriving music industry we need venues of all sizes.”

Paul Sloan, who is the agent for Bon Iver, Nick Cave, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and Spacey Jane, said: “The capacity and history of Festival Hall provided a much needed ‘iconic’ small-Arena option for Melbourne.

“Without Festival Hall as a secular venue option it is more difficult to place touring shows in the 2000-5000 capacity range in Melbourne.”

Hillsong will still use the venue for its Sunday services.

Live Nation also runs the Palais in St Kilda and runs ticket selling website Ticketmaster.

The company had shown interest in buying Festival Hall in 2020 but the sale happened during one of Melbourne’s lockdowns, which prevented live shows.