EXCLUSIVE: Aussie Promoter's Bold Plan To Get International Acts Touring This Year

Australia's Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy said only two weeks ago that international travel would be unlikely until 2022, but a veteran promoter has a bold plan to get overseas acts in the country in a matter of weeks. 

Andrew McManus - who has previously brought the likes of Fleetwood Mac, KISS and Aerosmith to Australia - will go ahead with the Under The Southern Stars festivals which boasts international bands Bush, Stone Temple Pilots and newly-announced additions Cheap Trick on an 11-date run throughout April and May. 

Speaking to The Music, McManus discussed how he intends to seemingly pull off the impossible and bring overseas bands into the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, having already been forced to postpone the events twice.

McManus said he has received approval for the tour to go ahead by the Commissioner of Border Control and over 60 letters of support, including SA Premier Steven Marshall and NSW Minister for Energy and Environment Matt Kean, with the latter's office confirming their support to The Music.

"The collective letters that we secured and attached to our application gave us the positive slant, which in turn we've been tabled as 'critical workers' and got the approval from the Commissioner," McManus said.

McManus said that the international bands and crews will undergo COVID-19 testing in the US before getting on a plane to Australia and are currently getting tested every second week in the lead up to the events. 

Should there be no issues at the point, they must then quarantine once landed at "port of entry".

"We're going to land in Sydney and we're working through that now," McManus said.

"We've identified a few of the facilities. We've earmarked the ones that we're hoping that we're going to be able to use which are not dissimilar to what [was] used for Thor."

He continued, "They're all very, very aware that the eyes of the world are going to be on them. They're all very, very aware that this is the first opportunity for international bands to play on foreign soil and they're proud to be part of Under The Southern Stars."

Should Under The Southern Stars go ahead successfully, McManus intends to distribute his plan widely, however he declined to reveal the specifics of the protocol, saying "I don't want to give that up because that's education that I have taken four months of blood, sweat and tears learning".

"Once we complete the festival, I'm going to actually make it available to all other promoters.

"Throughout the 11 festivals there's going to be some teething problems here and there, but by the time we get through... we'll pretty well have it down pat and on the completion we will hand the template to the Arts Minister for the Arts Minister to own and distribute amongst other promoters in Australia."

As the country has seen with spikes in Victoria, New South Wales and now most recently Western Australia, McManus conceded that the unpredictability of the pandemic will raise challenges, however promised that "there is a plan B for every event".

An Australian Border Force spokesperson told The Music that while they do not comment on individual cases, "travel exemptions to Australia may be granted under a number of categories, including persons delivering services in sectors critical to Australia’s economic recovery (such as financial technology, large scale manufacturing, film, media and television production and emerging technology), where no Australian worker is available".

Under The Southern Stars kicks off on 30 April. Head over to theGuide for more details.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article previously stated that Screen Australia was involved in handling quarantine facilities for the latest 'Thor' movie. This is incorrect as Screen Australia has confirmed it was not involved in the process.