Adele Concert Promoters Defend Brisbane Venue Choice After Transport Chaos Concerns

Adele's local concert promoters, Live Nation Australia, have defended their decision to hold the British songstress' impending Brisbane concerts at The Gabba after media reports emerged claiming the shows would bring a public transport "nightmare" to the city.

In recent days, News Corp has reported that the multiple Grammy winner's dual shows on Saturday 4 and especially Sunday 5 March would result in wide-ranging chaos lasting through to peak hour on Monday, as already-stretched transport services would struggle to meet the challenge of adequately handling the number of expected passengers going to and from the Gabba at the weekend while also meeting legal requirements to give drivers a 10-hour break between shifts.

Speaking to News Corp, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk suggested that Suncorp Stadium would have been a more appropriate venue for the concerts, as it is a "much better place in terms of dispersing than what the Gabba is".

"It is one thing for an event management together with a promoter to make an agreement about a concert going ahead, and then they are saying to the public transport providers, 'You go and support it from here'," Quirk said.

However, in a statement issued this morning "to clarify and correct some errors that have been noted in the media commentary" surrounding Adele's appearance in the city, Live Nation asserted that the decision to hold the concerts at The Gabba was made after more than a year of discussions, with over six months of planning going into the Brisbane shows.

According to Live Nation, the rectangular Suncorp Stadium — which is near two train stations and has an attached bus station — had been considered as a possibility for the events but "due to Adele's unique 'in-the-round' stage design, The Gabba was chosen as the most suitable venue to present the best possible concert experience for all patrons due to its oval playing field".

Adding to the prospective woes, transport committee chairman and deputy mayor Adrian Schrinner told News Corp that, although council is working with service providers TransLink and the venue, he was "yet to see any form of communication plan requested from the Gabba", despite the fact that it appears as though punters are looking at "the necessity of leaving between two or three hours early to get to this event".

But Live Nation Australia vice-president Luke Hede told News Corp he was "shocked" to see the reports of the expected chaos, especially as, according to the promoters' statement, all major stakeholders for the event — "including Transport for Brisbane, Translink, Queensland Rail, Brisbane City Council traffic management, Minister for Sport, and Stadiums Queensland" — were advised of, and consulted about, the plans in September 2016 prior to the first show's announcement in November.

Live Nation asserts that "a comprehensive traffic management plan has been put in place by The Gabba", including the arrangement of more than 100 additional bus services for Sunday's show, as well as the presence of road closures, two taxi ranks, Ride and Share pick-up/drop-off zones, parking restrictions and integrated public transport (i.e. free for ticket-holders).

The 42,000-seat capacity Gabba is expected to host about 60,000 people — including about 1400 in standing-room areas — on both nights (Saturday is sold out, and roughly 2000 tickets remain for Sunday), making the shows a bigger prospect than any sporting event to have been held on its grounds.

However, Live Nation has faith that the venue and associated transport plans will cope with the unprecedented load.

"We note that The Gabba successfully hosted five capacity Big Bash events earlier this year — and that their traffic management plan worked well with these events," the promoters said in their statement.

"The Gabba will host The Ashes later this year with the potential for a sell-out crowd over several consecutive days.

"As with any stadium in the world when at full capacity, we do expect there to be some delays in ticket-holders getting in and getting out of the venue — and patrons should plan their travel to and from the venue accordingly."

Editor's note: A previous version of this story misinterpreted the figures provided by Live Nation Australia relating to the increased capacity approval and standing-room allocation for Adele's concert. The article has been amended.