When the concert was announced back in February it was already the result of the best part of two years of hard work.
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Those involved including venue manager Marc Swan put an enormous amount of time into making this event possible.
When Elton John’s Once in a Lifetime concert for Wollongong went on sale, it sold out in minutes. Literally minutes.
It was a real test to see how this region would react in support of such a major open air concert in the city given this was a true first.
It sold out and people have shown a willingness to come to the Illawarra for this special event like they have other regions of New South Wales for major concerts.
Over 40 per cent of the 20,000-strong crowd attending the concert have come from outside the Illawarra.
Hotels, bars and restaurants were full. The streets around the stadium had a festival atmosphere.
If this was a test, then the Illawarra has past with flying colours.
Venues NSW chair Christine McLoughlin, who represents the governing body of the major venues in the state, was on hand to see the success for herself.
Ms McLoughlin is pictured on the right with her guest for the evening, Olympic rugby 7s gold medallist Emma Tonegato.
“Clearly tonight it has delivered for scale and size for one of the world’s most famous international performers,” Ms McLoughlin said.
“That’s a great start. Now it’s up to the board to see how we can help build on that.”
So that is the next question. Now WIN Stadium has proven itself as a large concert venue, where can it go to next?
If an artist with the popularity and pull of Sir Elton John can make it work, it must be a strong sign to other artists to show what is possible.
Congratulations to everyone involved in putting on Sunday night’s concert.
This city, this region pulled together and it should be incredibly proud of what it has achieved.
It should be onwards and upwards from here and hopefully there will be some big future announcements to come on the back of what has been a tremendous success.
On behalf of the Mercury, a special thank you to venues manager Marc Swan and the staff of Chugg Entertainment for making this event a joy to cover. You all rock.
