TEG raises over AU$9.5m for bushfire relief
Sunday’s Fire Fight Australia charity concert has raised almost AU$10 million (US$6.7m) for bushfire relief, with promoters TEG Dainty and TEG Live expecting more donations to come.
The mammoth nine-and-a-half-hour benefit concert took place at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on 16 February, with an audience of 75,000 watching performances from Queen and Adam Lambert, Alice Cooper, Michael Bublé, 5 Seconds of Summer and Peking Duk, among others.
The concert was broadcast live across Australia, thanks to a partnership between TEG and television networks Foxtel and Seven Network. Highlights of the show will be broadcast worldwide in the coming days with a call to action to donate.
The AU$9.5 m ($6.4m) raised so far will go to rural and regional fire services, Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery, RSPCA Bushfire Appeal and the BizRebuild programme.
“What a day and what a night it has been,” comments TEG CEO Geoff Jones. “Our huge thanks are owed to the 23 artists and bands and to the many companies and people who donated their time and services to make Fire Fight Australia happen.
“It has been an enormous effort from the music industry to pull this concert together in five weeks and we are just so proud of what has been achieved through our collective effort.”
“It has been an enormous effort from the music industry to pull this concert together in five weeks”
“We are overjoyed at the response from all of the fans here tonight at ANZ Stadium in Sydney and around the world,” adds TEG Dainty CEO Paul Dainty. “From the first conversation with Queen’s manager, Jim Beach, the band’s immediate response to support this amazing event was what set everything in motion.
“We want to give a special shout out to Celeste Barber for hosting this historic event, she has been one of the greatest supporters and we thank her.
“People can continue to donate and purchase the official Fire Fight Australia T-Shirt online with 100% of proceeds going to the fundraising efforts.”
A full breakdown of the final amounts raised will be made available in due course. TEG intends to keep donations open until mid May, when international broadcasts end. Accounting firm Deloitte will provide a post-event report detailing revenues, expenses and confirmation of the final donations to the various charities.
Jones, Dainty and TEG Live CEO Tim McGregor wrote in IQ ahead of Fire Fight Australia this weekend, describing how the star-studded event came to be. Read TEG’s journey to Fire Fight Australia here.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Live music hit by Australian bushfires
A Day On the Green festival in Victoria is the latest live music event to fall foul of the bushfires raging through Australia.
Australian rock bands Cold Chisel, Birds of Tokyo and Magic Dirt were scheduled to perform today (7 January) at A Day On the Green at the All Saints Estate in Rutherglen, in the south east of Australia.
Michael Newton, co-director of A Day On the Green organiser Roundhouse Entertainment, says the promoter is “extremely disappointed” to cancel the event.
“Our first priority is the safety of patrons, staff and artists and with air quality on the site and in surrounding areas now at a hazardous level, we have no other option but to cancel today’s show,” comments Newton.
The cancellation A Day On the Green, which has hosted the likes of Robbie Williams, Red Hot Chili Peppers, James Morrison and Florence and the Machine since launching in 2001, follows that of the Lorne leg of Falls Festival in December. The festival was set to feature artists including Halsey, Vampire Weekend, Lewis Capaldi, Peking Duk, John Farnham and Disclosure.
“Our first priority is the safety of patrons, staff and artists and with air quality now at a hazardous level, we have no other option but to cancel today’s show”
Multiple benefit concerts have cropped up in the wake of festival cancellations in order to raise money for bushfire relief.
Yesterday, Australian promoter TEG announced Fire Fight Australia, which will take place at Sydney’s 83,500-capacity ANZ Stadium on 16 February.
Singer Tones and I today revealed she will play a charity show at Melbourne’s 1,050-capacity 170 Russell on Tuesday 28 January, supported by Adrian Eagle. All proceeds from the event will be donated to rural fire services and the Australian Red Cross.
Tones and I also appeared at a benefit concert hosted by electronic duo Peking Duk in December, which raised AUD $50,000 (US$34,365) for firefighters tackling the blazes.
US singer Halsey and British rapper Yungblud are among other artists to have hosted impromptu charity shows in Melbourne in place of their Fall Festival appearances.
A Day On the Green ticketholders will receive a full refund via Ticketmaster in due course.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
TEG to hold concert for Australian bushfire relief
Promoters TEG Live and TEG Dainty are hosting a benefit concert to raise funds to provide relief from the bushfires which have been burning throughout Australia since September.
The concert, dubbed Fire Fight Australia, will be held at Sydney’s 83,500-capacity ANZ Stadium on Sunday 16 February and is expected to run from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“This is a major musical event which will see globally-renowned artists from Australia and around the world come together to perform and show solidarity with people whose lives have been disrupted by the bushfires,” reads a statement from the TEG-owned promoters.
“This is a major musical event which will see globally-renowned artists show solidarity with people whose lives have been disrupted by the bushfires”
The bushfires have so far burned 8.4 million hectares of land, destroyed over 1,200 homes and killed at least 23 people.
A full line-up of artists and partners will be announced here in the coming weeks.
TEG Dainty is promoting upcoming tours by Michael Buble and Queen and Adam Lambert across Australia and New Zealand, with TEG Live presenting shows by Lenny Kravitz and Alice Cooper.
Photo: Tim J Keegan/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
ASM Global invests in ANZ Stadium operator VenuesLive
ASM Global, the global venue-management giant formed by the recent merger of SMG and AEG Facilities, has acquired a 25% shareholding in Australian stadium operator VenuesLive.
The acquisition of a stake (formerly held by Techfront Australia) in VenuesLive gives ASM a further foothold in the Asia-Pacific large-venue sector. VenuesLive operates the 83,500-seat ANZ Stadium and 30,000-seat Bankwest Stadium, both in Sydney, and the 60,000-seat Optus Stadium, in Perth.
ASM Global, meanwhile, manages the 12,000-seat Brisbane Entertainment Centre and 52,500-seat Suncorp Stadium, both in Brisbane; the 21,000-seat Qudos Bank Arena and 8,500-seat First State Super Theatre at ICC, both in Sydney; the 15,000-seat RAC Arena in Perth; and the new 17,000-cap. Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, among others.
As part of the transaction, ASM Global’s Asia-Pacific region chairman, Harvey Lister, joins the VenuesLive board, though current directors (and joint majority shareholders) Daryl Kerry and Steve Heytman will continue to lead the business day to day.
“We look forward to the benefits that ASM Global’s investment in VenuesLive will bring”
Bob Newman, president and CEO of ASM Global, comments on the acquisitions: “The real winners from these developments are the fans who will be able to access a greater range of world-class content, services, amenities and technologies in more venues than ever before across Australia.”
Approval for the acquisition has been granted by the government owners of the three stadia.
Kerry, the managing director of VenuesLive, says: “We are excited about ASM Global’s investment in VenuesLive. We look forward to the benefits that ASM Global’s investment in VenuesLive will bring, particularly in delivering additional events to the stadia we manage.”
Collectively, ASM Global’s portfolio includes more than 300 arenas, stadia, convention centres and performing arts venues. ASM was formerly known locally as AEG Ogden.
ASM’s sister company, promoter AEG Presents, in April absorbed Frontier Touring, Australia’s last major independent concert business.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.