The ego is landing: Robbie Williams Geelong gig nears

GLOBAL superstar Robbie Williams will touch down in Geelong next week in what A Day on the Green says is its biggest production yet.

The British singer/songwriter is touring Australia for the first time in five years, and will start the first of five A Day on the Green concerts tomorrow (Saturday, November 19) ahead of his gig at Mt Duneed Estate on November 25.

Tickets have sold fast for the Geelong show – which will also include sets from Gaz Coombes (of Supergrass fame), Lufthaus and Yo! Mafia – but a limited number in some categories are still available.

A Day on the Green founder Michael Newton said Williams did two dates with A Day on the Green during the Heavy Entertainment Show tour – including a packed show at Mt Duneed Estate in 2018 – and the results were beneficial for all parties.

“Michael Chugg has always been Robbie’s promoter in Australia and New Zealand, and back then on that tour he said ‘I think Robbie would go really well in the wineries so let’s consider doing something with him’.

“At the time, the capacity in Geelong was 20,000, so it just fitted into the itinerary, it had the capacity… it wasn’t an experiment, but we thought ‘Let’s just see how it goes; I think Robbie’s really going to like it’.

“So we put the Geelong show on sale and it sold out really quickly, and then we added the Yarra Valley show later on, and it was even on a Thursday night, and it sold out as well.

“This time around, it was the same conversation with Michael Chugg – we work out what the time period is, and just speak to him about how the itinerary’s going to work for him and Robbie, and what we can do on the weekend.

“On this tour we’ve ended up with five shows, which is fantastic, and Geelong is the biggest one; it’s just super-exciting.”

Mr Newtown said the November 25 show would be A Day on the Green’s biggest not in sheer crowd size – although capacity has been lifted to 25,000 – but in terms of the scale of the production and staging.

“The last Robbie show was a really big show, the Elton [John] show was big as well, but this show with Robbie has just got more lights, more screens, a bigger stage, an enormous PA… he’s got a lot of people on the road as well, so it’s having to cater for that amount of people backstage, and looking after everyone coming and leaving the show, and looking after them while they’re there.

“It’s a big and expensive undertaking.”

The November 25 show has reached capacity in its bus transfers except for the pickup area at Waurn Ponds railway station.

Mr Newton said getting a taxi or Uber to the show would be fine, but he strongly suggested not doing the same on the way home – “You’re wasting your time, you’ll actually be waiting for hours”. Instead, music fans can buy a one-way ticket for the bus routes to Torquay, Geelong or Ocean Grove at the concert.

He encouraged ticketholders to arrive early, get a good spot and enjoy the atmosphere and support acts.

Gates to the Mt Duneed Estate show open at 3pm, with Williams expected to hit the stage at 8pm.

For more information, including ticket release information and bus transfer times, head to adayonthegreen.com.au/currenttours/robbiewilliams/mt-duneed-estate