Untitled Group’s Nick Greco has discussed the “incredible” crossover opportunities for live music and sport after unveiling the lineup for a three-day festival set to take place during the 2025 Australian Open.

The festival will be held at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena from 23-25 January under the tennis tournament’s new entertainment banner AO Live, and will be the only music event to be held at a Grand Slam worldwide.

It will mark the third year in a row that Australia’s largest independent promoter has programmed the Aussie Open’s live entertainment programme. The company has also worked across other sporting showpieces.

“The opportunity for live music around sporting events is huge given Australia has such a deep affinity with sport and music,” says Greco, Untitled’s co-founder and managing partner. “We’ve also got a long history of pairing live music with our biggest sporting events, one that recently continued with Katy Perry performing at the AFL Grand Final and The Kid Laroi at the NRL Grand Final. Pairing live sport with live music connects with audiences on a global level, just look at the Super Bowl in America – and the recent announcement that the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will have a Super Bowl-style halftime show.”

The first two nights of AO Live will be headlined by Benson Boone and Kaytranada, respectively, while the finale coincides with the Women’s Finals and will feature multiple artists, climaxing with performances from Kesha and Armand Van Helden.

“We’ve been working with the Australian Open for several years now, and it’s so exciting to be able to announce the AO Live lineup for 2025,” adds Greco. “The AO has been one of the most attended Australian sporting events for decades, but in recent years, has become one a must-see music event too.”

“The Victorian government has recognised the incredible opportunity for crossover between music and sports fans”

Any ticket purchased to AO Live automatically includes a ground pass for Australian Open 2025, with tickets starting from A$89 (€55). Praising the support of the local government in helping the festival come to pass, Greco is hopeful other cities will sit up and take notice.

“The Victorian government has recognised the incredible opportunity for crossover between music and sports fans, and been a key supporter, but it would be great to see other state governments and the federal government, all of whom profess to be supporters of live music, include crossover events as part of their future considerations,” he adds.

“As with our other festivals like Beyond The Valley, Pitch Music & Arts and Ability Fest, we’ve seen that brand equity is just as important as a strong lineup, and people are really seeking out experience and community in 2024. We’ll happily claim that we are the only music festival at a Grand Slam globally.”

Untitled’s recent successes include Beyond The Valley, which sold 85% of its tickets during presale and is on track to sell out ahead of its 28 December-1 January return to Barunah Plains in Hesse. In addition, its Wildlands festival (Brisbane, Adelaide Perth) has seen a 30% increase in ticket sales compared to this time last year.

It also reports sellouts shows with the likes of Solomon, Anyma, Ben Böhmer, and I Hate Models, as well as Dom Dolla’s national tour which has seen him sell out large outdoor venues such as Flemington Racecourses in Melbourne and Domain in Sydney.

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The Australian arm of global event infrastructure provider eps has acquired Melbourne-based ground protection specialist, Eventfloor.

Established in 2006, Eventfloor offers a range of portable flooring, access roadways and grass and turf protection systems.

Over the past 15 years, the company has held contracts with 30,050-capacity Aami Park stadium, Australian Open Tennis, Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix and Victorian Racing Club.

eps managing director Andrew Stone describes Eventfloor as a “strong and reliable business” with a “fantastic local reputation and associated inventory.”

“This merger will not only strengthen eps’s market leadership, it will also bring added value to all customers who will get a broader variety of products and services, with better access to warehousing, inventory, plant and machinery,” comments Stone.

“Being part of eps australia brings our clients considerable advantages”

Eventfloor owner Paul Blackie, who continue to work with eps Australia in a consulting role, says he is “very happy to see Eventfloor go to such a good home.”

“Being part of eps Australia brings our clients considerable advantages,” continues Blackie. “They not only have access to a wide range of flooring systems, but also to other products and services within the eps Australia wheelhouse, such as crowd barriers, seating and detailed CAD planning services.”

In addition to its Australian branch, eps has offices across Europe, in Germany, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Switzerland and the UK, as well as in North and South America.

eps is a long-time part of the ILMC Production Meeting (IPM), which returns on Tuesday 3 March 2020.

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