UPDATE: Rolling Stones officially announce Australian shows and ticket info – details here!
After reports back in October that a Rolling Stones tour was being pursued by the South Australian government, it has now been confirmed that the band will play a show at the newly upgraded Adelaide Oval in March 2014, the first tour date in the city for nearly 20 years.
The Herald Sun is reporting that the Stones were headhunted by Premier Jay Weatherill’s state government to be the first major musical event to perform at the redeveloped Oval, set to cater to up to 70,000 music fans.
The date is said to have been set down for 22nd March 2014, at the end of the city’s festival season, which includes Adelaide and Fringe festivals plus the Clipsal 500 motor race.
A source close to the deal said less than $500,000 of taxpayer funds was needed to secure the band, despite industry sources claiming “at least several million dollars” would be needed to draw them back to the city. It is believed that Adelaide Oval’s fame as a sporting ground partly explains the deal as singer Mick Jagger is famously cricket mad.
The timing of the concert and its announcement could not be more helpful to SA’s premier, whose 2010 election campaign included promises of a redeveloped Adelaide Oval. The 22nd March Stones show will be held just a week after the 2014 state election.
While there are currently no other Australian tour dates confirmed, Herald Sun says that the Adelaide date is expected to be officially announced later today. Presumably other Australian shows will be announced at the same time, supported by the tease of “exciting news” later today on the official Rolling Stones Facebook page.
Ticketing details are likewise unavailable, but if prices for their Hyde Park London shows earlier this year are anything to go by, punters will be shelling out the big bucks. Bottom of the barrel GA tickets there cost $160, while top-shelf seats were a whopping $560. VIP packages reportedly went for over $1600.
The Rolling Stones last toured Australia in 2006 on their Bigger Bang tour, playing stadiums and intimate shows, and had previously visited in 2003 and 1995. Adelaide last saw the Stones for the 1995 Voodoo Lounge tour.
UPDATE: Rolling Stones officially announce Australian shows and ticket info – details here!
