Adele says Channel 7 helicopters forced her to do soundcheck from under the stage at Sydney concert

ADELE took a swipe at Channel 7 during her Sydney concert, saying she was forced to do a sound check from under the stage because of helicopters above.

Fans arrive at the Adele concert in Sydney's ANZ Stadium. Photo Jeremy Piper

POP superstar Adele took a swipe at Channel 7 on stage during her Sydney concert, saying she was forced to do a sound check from under the stage because of helicopters hovering above.

“Your helicopters are a bit keen,” the 15-time Grammy Award winner told the crowd.

“You know your Channel 7 News? I don’t want them to know what I’m doing.”

During the concert, the London-born star said she had “never seen a crowd this f**kin big”, defended Justin Bieber and shot cash wrapped in t-shirts, telling fans to “have a drink on me”.

“I’d give you all 20 quid but I’d go broke,” she joked.

On Justin Bieber, who is also touring Australia at present, she said she “can’t believe” she has the same fans as the young Canadian.

“Don’t boo him, he’s only a kid. You’d be like that if you were famous at 12 ... I don’t know him but I feel bad for him when everyone boos him.”

Earlier, the pop superstar was forced to start her concert 30 minutes late after massive queues outside the venue, beginning the show with her signature hit Hello.

The British diva apologised to the crowd for starting after the 7:30pm scheduled time, but said she knew people were struggling to get there and didn’t want them to end up disappointed.

Earlier, 95,000 people packed trains and cars en route to the concert leading to huge crowds outside.

Public transport bosses have warned trips to Olympic Park this weekend could take up to three hours partly due to scheduled work that could not be moved.

The Grammy award winning star said she didn’t want helicopters to “know what I’m up to”. Picture: Channel 7

Adele said on stage she was forced to do her soundcheck from under the stage because of Channel 7 helicopters hovering above. Picture: Picture: Channel 7

Fans arrive at the Adele concert in Sydney's ANZ Stadium. Photo Jeremy Piper

Fans arrive at the Adele concert in Sydney's ANZ Stadium. Photo Jeremy Piper

Adele started late because of transport delays. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Earlier police and the stadium warned people not to drive or they would be saying hello from the other side — of the stadium wall where you’ll be cutting laps all night looking for a non-existent parking space.

You'll be rolling in some deep traffic if you don't plan ahead for Adele. All car parks are SOLD OUT! Unless you pre-booked, don't drive. pic.twitter.com/HMdNbLsxzK

— NSW Police (@nswpolice) March 9, 2017

Stadium parking is booked out for both Friday and Saturday nights, and organisers have urged anyone without a reservation to take public transport.

That means here are no parking sports left unless you have pre-booked.

The cost of bus and train fares are included in the ticket price and are valid until 4am the morning following the show.

Take the train & you'll be Right as Rain for @Adele at @ANZStadium tonight. Travel incl in your tix. https://t.co/UiNvhPFz5p @LiveNationOzNz pic.twitter.com/t0Cbe1M8dO

— T4 Sydney Trains (@T4SydneyTrains) March 9, 2017

But an estimated 95,000 fans are expected to cram into the Olympic Stadium tonight and again tomorrow night, and the vast majority are expected to arrive by public transport.

It’s been heralded as the biggest event the venue has staged since the 2000 Olympics.

While there are extra event bus services and express trains to cater for the masses, the official advice is to plan your journey to arrive well before the official 7.30pm show time.

For those with tickets to tonight’s event, there’s never been a better excuse to skip out of work early.

Adele in concert at the Gabba, where she told the city’s notoriously staid council to “stop your f***ing moaning”. Picture: Steve Pohlner

On Saturday night, those coming from the north side of the city by train have been urged to allow up to three hours to get to the stadium, with buses replacing trains on the T1 Northern and North Shore line, as well as the Central Coast and Newcastle line and the Hunter line due to scheduled track work.

The works were planned well before the singer’s tour dates were announced and NSW Trasnport Minister Andrew Constance said the works were running to a strict timetable and thus unable to be moved.

“You just can’t simply cancel $8 million of extensive works on the rail network at the click of your fingers,” he said.

Ticket collection at the venue is also expected to be a fairly slow affair.

And let’s not even begin to imagine what the toilet queues will be like.

Extra services to get to and from the event are listed below but for live public transport information, go to www.transportnsw.info

TRAINS

The closest train station to ANZ Stadium is Olympic Park.

Getting there

Direct services will run to Sydney Olympic Park leaving from:

Central every 15 minutes from 4:53pm until 6:00pm and then every 7-8 minutes from 6:00pm until 10:30pm, stopping at Redfern and Strathfield.

Campbelltown at 6:07pm, stopping all stations to Olympic Park via Granville.

Liverpool at 6:09pm, stopping all stations to Olympic Park via Granville.

Alternatively, catch a train to Lidcombe Station then head to Platform Zero for a direct service to Olympic Park, running every 10 minutes until 10:30pm. From 10:30pm the Olympic Park Sprint will be replaced by direct Western Line trains.

Getting home

Express return services will run on the following lines after the concert to help get you home:

Central services will leave Olympic Park every 5 minutes from 10:30pm until 1:30am, stopping at Strathfield and Redfern then Central.

Blacktown services will leave Olympic Park every 7-8 minutes, stopping at Lidcombe, Granville, Parramatta, Westmead, Seven Hills and Blacktown.

Penrith services will leave Olympic Park every 30 minutes, stopping at Lidcombe, Granville, Parramatta, Westmead, Seven Hills, Blacktown then all stations to Penrith.

Passengers head to the Guns N‘ Roses concert at Olympic Park from Central Station last month. Crowds for Adele are expected to be much bigger because, unlike Gunners fans, most are under 50 and still alive.

BUSES

Sydney Olympic Park Major Event Buses start running between 3:00pm and 4:00pm depending on the route and arrive at the precinct from around 5:00pm. Services continue to arrive into Olympic Park until 8:15pm.

Return services will commence from after the show with the last bus on each route leaving Sydney Olympic Park at 11:30pm.

Scheduled wheelchair accessible buses will travel on each route.

Sydney Buses are running to a regular weekday timetable:

Sydney Buses Route 525 runs between Parramatta and Burwood via Sydney Olympic Park.

Route 526 runs from the Sydney Olympic Park Ferry Wharf to Olympic Park.

Route X25 runs regularly from Strathfield Station to Olympic Park during the afternoon peak period.

Keep us posted on how the transport is going out there tonight! Email: [e-mail]

Why would you drive here? Are you a crazy person?

TRAFFIC

If you’re planning on driving to the concert allow plenty of extra travel time as heavy traffic is expected on roads approaching Sydney Olympic Park, including the M4, Homebush Bay Drive, Concord Road and Parramatta Road.

If you decide to drive, the below routes are advised and can help minimise traffic issues:

From the NORTH: Through Top Ryde, take Victoria Rd and then Silverwater Rd and Holker Street to Sydney Olympic Park;

From the SOUTH: Turn onto Parramatta Road then Hill Road to Sydney Olympic Park;

From the EAST: Take Parramatta Road then Birnie Avenue or Hill Road. If you are driving along Victoria Road, consider taking Silverwater Road then Holker Street.

From the WEST: Turn onto Silverwater Road then Holker Street or turn onto Hill Road, and then to Sydney Olympic Park.

As for the weather forecast:

There will be no rolling in the deep in SYD tonight - only 20% chance of rain. @Adele you can call us 1000 times on 132 500 if you need us. pic.twitter.com/uMZVCDZ8dV

— NSW SES (@NSWSES) March 9, 2017

Originally published as Adele says Channel 7 helicopters forced her to do soundcheck from under the stage at Sydney concert