Guy Sebastian and Baker Boy blow the roof off at Allianz Stadium grand opening
From footballs flying to pyrotechnics to the best of Aussie hip-hop and pop, Sydney’s new $828 million stadium had it all for its grand opening. See the pictures.
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It was a history making moment that packed all of the punches of an Olympic opening ceremony.
Guy Sebastian and Baker Boy headlined the opening night concert for the Allianz Stadium on Sunday to mark a new era of sport, entertainment and hospitality at the iconic Sydney venue that has had a $828m makeover.
“To be here for the opening as an artist, it is a dream moment because I have to crush this tonight because of everything around me,” Sebastian told The Daily Telegraph.
“It is insane … I have got a LED floor, which is pretty much the size of an oval, I’ve got pyrotechnics, flames, everything, and so everything around me is there and there are obviously thousands of people here so no pressure. I am not nervous, I am more excited to get out there.”
Sebastian paid tribute to legendary Aussie performer John Farnham, who last week underwent marathon surgery to remove a cancerous tumour in his mouth.
To honour the great Australian, Sebastian performed Farnham’s hit, You’re The Voice. He made the decision to add the track to his set at sound check on Saturday.
“I think my main thought is this would have been amazing with Farnham opening, obviously he would be the guy. He is an icon. I have made it no secret that he has always been a hero of mine,” Sebastian said.
Proud Yolngu man and Young Australian of the Year Baker Boy (Danzal Baker) earlier gave an inspirational performance of his hits Ride and Move.
Uncle Lloyd Walker performed a Welcome to Country, accompanied by Gamay dancers, while Olivia Fox sang the national anthem.
Gary Pinto led a tribute to Judith Durham to remember The Seekers frontwoman who died earlier this month.
In the crowd, it was all smiles and footy jerseys as punters showed off their love for their favourite teams. Punters claimed the 55,000 free tickets within a few days of the event being announced.
From newborn babies through to NRL’s oldest fans, thousands of supporters wanting to be a part of the history-making moment passed through the new gates of the Moore Park venue from 11am.
Fans wandered around the venue’s 42,500 seats and 1680 fan standing spots, passing entertainers blowing bubbles and dancers wearing rainbow onesies.
Earlier in the day, junior rugby players ran out on the field for a kick around, kept company by a glittering cheerleading squad.
For Roosters fan and junior club member Arlo Yelavich seeing the stadium was a dream come true.
It was an opportunity for him to meet his favourite player, Roosters fullback James Tedesco, as the team were out talking to fans on the day.
Arlo’s mum Alicia Yelavich said the open day was also a great opportunity to get a look inside.
“We’ve been watching this being built for a very long time now,” she said.
“We’re from Surry Hills and we’ve been watching the progress of the work. Now we finally get to see it.”
The next time Arlo and his family return to Allianz stadium will be for Friday’s match between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters.
“I will definitely be coming to see it here,” said an excited Arlo.
Sydney dad Adam Richardson was herding around an excited group of boys who couldn’t wait to check out the new stadium.
Rocco Christie, Lloyd and Toby loved everything about the new stadium and were excited at the prospect of seeing their favourite teams playing there.
One of the boys, Rocco, said his favourite part of the day was getting to play rugby on the field.
For Mr Richardson, getting three excited boys off the pitch was challenging.
“It’s been stressful trying to get them all in the same place at the same time,” he said.
“It’s a lovely stadium. It’s different from the old one, though there’s a lot the same.
“It’s been a lovely day and perfect weather for it.”
‘Political skin’ and $828m the cost of new stadium
It was the football field that almost decided an election.
But on Sunday Premier Dominic Perrottet was more than happy to smile and pose for selfies as thousands of people converged on the new Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park for its official opening.
With the $828 million rebuild finally complete, and the field set to host its first match when the Rabbitohs and the Roosters clash on Friday, the Premier reflected on the controversial decision by former premier Gladys Berejiklian in 2017 to spend $2 billion knocking down and rebuilding both Sydney Olympic and Sydney Football stadiums.
The Berejiklian government was later forced to backdown on its proposal to demolish the Sydney Olympic Stadium but pushed ahead with the plans for Allianz Stadium at Moore Park.
“We almost lost an election on the construction of this stadium, but here we are today, and people are flocking to it,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Now whilst it was controversial at the time, we lost a lot of political skin, (but) I don‘t think that’s the case today and the fact so many people are coming through for the family open day, to me demonstrates what a success this is.
“We went down a path to ensure that NSW has the very best of cultural facilities anywhere in the world.”
More than 55,000 free tickets were handed out to two jam-packed sessions of live entertainment to celebrate the opening.
More than 25,000 of those were for the morning session where punters were given the chance to rub shoulders with their footy player idols, and another 30,000 for the night show including blockbuster performances from Baker Boy and Guy Sebastian.
Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys, fresh from waging a war with the NSW government over its decision to renege on a promise to upgrade rugby league fields at Brookvale, Leichardt and Shark Park, said the new stadium was in its “honeymoon period”.
He said it was “unlikely” the SFS would ever host an NRL grand final but said “never say never”.
The 42,500-seat stadium will play home to the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby and Sydney FC in the A-League.
It will also be home to the Socceroos, Matildas, Wallabies, Kangaroos and Jillaroos for international fixtures.
The stadium provides 100 per cent rain cover to all seats which have been pushed as close as possible to the field of play.
There is a 300 per cent increase in public concourse areas and up to 64 contemporary bars and food outlets provided by Justin Hemmes’ Merivale hospitality group.
Queues for the loo should also be a lot shorter with a 170 per cent increase in the number of public toilets. Women will also have almost six times as many toilets to choose from – 600, up from 113.
Mr Perrottet said the stadium was now the “envy of the world”.
“This has been a long journey. But today we open a world-class stadium for our world-class people,” the Premier said.
Mr Ayres, who had been deeply involved with the stadium as it rumbled towards completion, spoke out on opening day, saying the SFS was now the “No.1” ground in Australia.
“Sydney now has a genuine world-class sports and entertainment venue for people to enjoy,” he said.
“We have lifted the SFS from last and now made it No.1.”
Just for kicks
It’s an age-old tradition when politicians announce, open or commence work on a new facility, for them to reach for a shovel (to turn the first sod) or any other piece of equipment which can help them ham-it-up in front of the media.
So it’s no surprise, at the unveiling of the completed Sydney Football Stadium, that Premier Dominic Perrottet, sports Minister Alister Henskens and tourism Minister Ben Franklin reached for the footballs.
The squad sent a few kicks across the field in front of a wall of watching media, in a display which left some staff ducking for cover.
Perrottet, whose athleticism has previously been on display when he sank a three-pointer during an announcement with the Sydney Kings basketball side late last year, doesn’t appear as comfortable with a rugby ball – the Premier sending a few hacks downfield off his left foot.
Alister Henskens, who enjoyed what will surely be one of the loftiest days of his sporting Minister stint less than a month after being parachuted into the role after Stuart Ayres’ John Barilaro-related resignation, favoured an end-over-end kick.
Confidential can confirm neither are likely to cause rival fullbacks any nightmares in the style of NRL stars Nathan Cleary and Matt Burton, whose brutal sky-high bombs have set a new benchmark for kicking.
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Originally published as Guy Sebastian and Baker Boy blow the roof off at Allianz Stadium grand opening
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