The Rolling Stones perform at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China, on March 14
The Rolling Stones have postponed their Australia and New Zealand tour after the death of Mick Jagger's girlfriend L'Wren Scott. The U.S. fashion designer and 14-year partner to Jagger was found dead in her New York apartment on Monday in an apparent suicide.
Australian promoter Frontier Touring was handling the Australian run, which was scheduled to kick off Wednesday at Perth Arena before heading to the newly-built Adelaide Oval on March 22.
That show was scheduled to be the opening event for the new cricket and football stadium. Kristie McFarlane, a PR consultant with the facility, issued a statement saying, "We will be working with the promoters to determine whether an agreement on an alternate date can be reached, but we have no indication at this stage as to when that date might be.’
She said that an upcoming Australian Football League game between Port Adelaide FC and Adelaide FC on March 29 — one week after the postponed Rolling Stones concert — would likely be the opening event for the 50,000-capacity venue.
The postponement casts a cloud of uncertainty on what was supposed to be a guaranteed winner for the seven Australian and New Zealand venues on the tour. A statement by Frontier Touring is instructing all ticket holders to continue to hold their tickets and didn’t include any information about a potential refund.
Trish McNamara, GM for the Brisbane Entertainment Centre which had the show booked for April 2, said it could be a matter of weeks or even months before they have an idea about when or if the show could be rescheduled.
“It was absolutely going to be one of our biggest events of the year, we were totally at capacity,” she said.
Also in jeopardy was a show at Hanging Rock in Victoria, a beautiful rock formation and state park near the townships of Newham and Hesket. The Stones’ show at the landmark was the first under a new deal that Michael Gudinski’s company Frontier Touring had with the Macedon Ranges Council to stage events. On Friday, an extra 1,000 tickets were put on sale for the event, costing between $530-$346 a piece.
“We think they’ll come back. The plan right now is for them to reschedule and all we can do is wait to see what happens,” said Tim Worton, AEG Ogden’s Group Director of Arenas who oversees Perth Arena, Allphones Arena in Sydney and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
“The biggest concern right now if for Mick Jagger and the tragic loss of life that occurred,” he said. “Whenever you face tragic circumstances, you find yourself in a situation of uncertainty and that is what’s happening now.”
The last time the band visited Australia was in 2006 — “they are the world’s most iconic band and demand for their concert is through the roof, especially because it’s an arena tour and fans don’t know when they’ll have this opportunity again.”
Other canceled dates include Sydney Allphones Arena on March 25, Melbourne Rod Laver Arena on March 28 and Auckland Mt. Smart Stadium on April 5.
Interviewed for this article: Kristie McFarlane, +61 8 8267 6888; Trish McNamara, +61 7 3265 8278; Tim Worton, +61 2 8765 4355