Oprah crashes 80th birthday as Qld goes gaga for celebs
Just hours after touching down in Brisbane, the TV icon was already stealing hearts as she surprised guests at an 80th birthday party.
The highly anticipated Brisbane arrival of A-list stars Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey this week has already delivered a huge economic boost for the city – not to mention made the day of one woman whose 80th birthday party was gatecrashed by Oprah.
Just hours after touching down in Brisbane Sunday afternoon, Oprah was already stealing hearts as she surprised guests at the celebration.
“At Clarrissa Hill’s 80th birthday, and we had an incredible gate crasher!!! O.M.G!! Oprah Winfrey,” Michele Thompson posted to Facebook.
Photos show Oprah delivering the candlelit cake to the table, where a shocked Ms Hill sat open-mouthed.
“Your students, your friends, everybody that loves you, honours you and celebrates you (on) this day. And I am honoured to be a part of it,” Oprah told Ms Hill, who owned a dance centre in Brisbane.
“I saw the sign saying you were having a birthday party and I said ‘I want to crash it’.”
Ms Hill, still in shock, stood to thank Oprah as the two shared a touching moment about the birthday celebration and taking the time to celebrate with friends and family.
“That was wonderful,” Ms Hill told Oprah.
“Thank you so much.”
The birthday was held at a CBD hotel.
Ms Thompson’s sister Nicci Hope said Ms Hill’s cake had almost come to the table before it strangely disappeared back to the kitchen.
Then, out came the cake but this time, carried by Oprah.
“She walked past me on the table, and I said to my friend beside me, I said, ‘that’s Oprah’,” Ms Hope said.
“And then like, I looked across the table to my sister, and I said to my sister, ‘that’s Oprah’ and she goes ‘what?’ and I said ‘that’s Oprah Winfrey, that’s Oprah’ and so Michele just started filming.
“When she came in, she went ‘oh I thought that there was an eightieth birthday party here, and so I just wanted to come in and crash it’.
“She wished (Ms Hill) happy birthday and it was great to be with all of her friends and family and ex-students and then we got photos with her.
“She was there for at least 10 to 15 minutes,” she said.
Fans across the country and internationally are flocking to Brisbane for the two blockbuster events, with Oprah’s show on Monday and Gaga’s Suncorp Stadium concert on Tuesday.
Both Oprah and Gaga are understood to be staying in Brisbane’s CBD rather than opting for the Gold Coast’s Langham hotel, which has recently hosted international celebrities touring Queensland. Oprah touched down at the Brisbane Airport on Sunday afternoon.
Accommodation across the city was quickly booked up across the two event dates, and data from the Brisbane Economic Development Agency (BEDA) has shown hotel occupancy had jumped to 80.3 per cent on Monday, a 5.9 per cent spike compared with the same date last year.
The data, sourced from Localis, also tipped occupancy rates to rise again on Tuesday to 87.9 per cent, up 31.9 per cent from 66.7 per cent on the same night in 2024.
It was a similar scenario for Airbnb, with searches for Brisbane stays during the concert period soaring to 98 per cent compared to the same time last year.
An Airbnb spokesman said domestic fans were travelling from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Rockhampton and Toowoomba.
The spokesman said international travellers were also flocking in from across the globe, including from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, South Korea, France, Singapore and New Caledonia.
Brisbane transport providers also geared up for an expected increase in service interest to the CBD from regional towns, with private bus charter companies advertising additional shuttles for Gaga’s concert night.
Members of the hospitality sector were also keeping their eyes peeled to see where the A-listers dine during their Brisbane trip. Oprah had already documented her Australian restaurant experience on social media, with the global star posting about her love for the ricotta pancakes from Sydney restaurant, Bills.
On Saturday, the morning of her Adelaide stint, Oprah was spotted trekking to the Mount Lofty Summit. She was joined by South Australian Paralympic gold medallist Katrina Webb.
“Well, I didn’t find (the hike) to be moderate, I found it pretty hard,” she told News Corp on Saturday.
“Everybody kept telling me this is mild to moderate, (but) I think there are some places that are hard. Of course, the view was worth it. I mean, the whole experience was worth it, and to get to the top was fantastic.”
Inner-city venues are preparing for increased nightlife numbers including Fortitude Valley’s Wickham Hotel which has announced a themed free after-party for Gaga fans following the concert.
Originally published as Oprah crashes 80th birthday as Qld goes gaga for celebs
