Guns N' RosesJust weeks after Foo Fighters included Townsville and Newcastle on their summer tour, civic authorities in both cities are celebrating that Guns N’ Roses are also playing there this year.
The six Australian shows play four capital cities, but also Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium (QCBS) on Wednesday, December 2nd, and Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium on Tuesday, December 8th.
In the case of these two regional stops, it’s not just the millions of dollars pumped into their economies.
It also gives them the chance to attract business investment, tourism and skilled workers.
Different Story
But it was a different story for the QCBS just three years ago, when worried questions were being asked why QCBS was not attracting top concerts and focussing on sports.
Speaking to the ABC, then-Mayor Jenny Hill called the lack of concerts there a "bitter disappointment.” The 25,000-seat venue opened in January 2020 with funding from the Federal and Queensland Governments.
She added: "You can't build a stadium worth well over $300 million and just have it for sporting events. The community is crying out for that ability to see the odd stadium show, even if it's only once a year or twice a year."
She went on to say thousands of Townsville fans had to journey south to catch shows.
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Worsening the situation that year (2023), the Groovin’ The Moo festival decided, due to “logistic and financial” reasons, to pull out of Townsville after eleven years and relocate to the Sunshine Coast.
In September, KISS had to move their show from the QCBS to the Gold Coast due to a schedule clash with the facility’s tenant the North Queensland Cowboys.
But late last week when the Gunners’ visit (with Aussie support Airbourne) was announced, QCBS General Manager Cameron Jones announced, “Off the back of successful events of Pink, Jelly Roll, and The Killers, Townsville has a reputation of delivering world class events in a world class stadium.
“It’s unbelievable for Queensland, it’s unbelievable for Townsville, it’s unbelievable for us in terms of our reputation as the events capital of North Queensland.”
Townsville Mayor Nick Dametto asserted, “Townsville’s becoming the rock capital of Northern Australia and I can't wait to welcome Guns N’ Roses to Townsville.”
He went on to stress the economic benefit. “For those business owners out there, it doesn’t matter if it’s cafes, bars, restaurants, or hoteliers, we are all looking at the economic benefit that comes out of drawing large, big name events like this to Townsville.
“My hat’s got to be taken off to Townsville Enterprise, and Townsville City Council, and Queensland Stadiums for doing their part to make sure they are putting things in place, and making sure they are getting it right when attracting big names like Guns N’ Roses.”
In December 2024, the city of Townsville struck a partnership with Townsville Enterprise to actively entice major events. A 2024-27 strategy aimed to bring 20 major events and 50,000 event visitors to the region, and to streamline the process to attract music, entertainment and sports promoters.
It is expected that Guns N’ Roses will inject an extra $5 million into Townsville, similar to Townsville Enterprises’ forecast for Foo Fighters.
Higher Stakes
The stakes are higher in Newcastle, which last year upped its annual major events budget from $450,000 to up $2 million to attract and retain major events through its Strategic Event Partnership Program.
Such is the rise of events that business leaders and music identities are also pushing for a new and larger Newcastle Entertainment Centre to be built, with 10,000 seats.
City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath earlier revealed that major events are worth $20 million a year to the local economy, and large scale concerts like Foo Fighters (and now Guns N’ Roses) provided “significant” returns.
This was because 50% of the audience came from outside Newcastle “and half of those visitors stay overnight, many for several days.”
Guns N’ Roses are the fifth international band to play McDonald Jones Stadium in the past three years following Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pink, and Foo Fighters.
Venue Manager Dean Mantle unveiled that the success of John and McCartney in 2023 were “critical” in pitching the venue for the Foos’ and Gunners’ visits.
The official report from the City’s Community and Culture Advisory Committee that year was that Elton sold 50,000 tickets to two shows at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Of these, 11,000 tickets were purchased outside Newcastle, 2,000 from interstate and more than 120 outside Australia. The two shows made $14 million for the city.
McCartney’s show, his first ever outside an Australian capital city, drew almost 30,000 and injected about $9 million to the local economy.
“Guns ‘N Roses' tour landing in Newcastle reinforces the Hunter’s rapid rise as one of Australia’s premier regional event destinations, with major global acts choosing the harbour city for headline shows alongside major international capitals,” stated Minister for Sport and Tourism Steve Kamper.
“Guns N’ Roses are rock and roll royalty and to have them take centre stage in Newcastle is a huge coup for the region. We can’t wait to see Guns N’ Roses knockin’ on Newcastle’s door this December, just weeks after the Foo Fighters take over the city.”
The Foos’ Newcastle show sold out 25,000 tix in hours. Local Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp quipped: “Forget coal, Newcastle’s biggest export in 2026 is a different kind of rock, rock ‘n’ roll!”
Councillor Peta Winney-Baartz, City of Newcastle representative on Venues NSW Hunter Advisory Committee teased that another big tour was being finalised for the city.
She noted that the strong international sales for the international music acts sent a strong message to promoters – “that Novocastrians can be relied upon to pack out McDonald Jones Stadium when Guns N’ Roses show up in December.
"It’s going to be a very big summer for Newcastle. And the good news is we are in talks with promoters about more international acts to come to our city in 2026! Watch this space!"
Guns N’ Roses perform throughout Australia and New Zealand across November and December, with tickets on sale from Friday, March 13th.
GUNS N’ ROSES
THE WORLD TOUR 2026 - AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Sunday 29 November - bp Adelaide Grand Final, Adelaide
Wednesday 2 December - Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Saturday 5 December - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Tuesday 8 December - McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Friday 11 December - Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Monday 14 December - ENGIE Stadium, Sydney
Thursday 17 December - Eden Park Stadium, Auckland
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
