Thousands of John Farnham fans who missed out on tickets to a huge celebration of the Australian music legend have been handed some very welcome news – the sold-out concert is going nationwide.
The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend – The Celebration Concert will be broadcast live from Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena into HOYTS cinemas across Australia on Sunday, September 20.
The move means fans who were unable to secure a seat at the one-night-only Melbourne show – or simply couldn’t make the trip – will still be able to experience the concert as it happens.
And given the extraordinary demand for the original event, there should be no shortage of takers.
The Rod Laver Arena concert sold out within hours, with thousands of fans left disappointed after lengthy online queues and rapidly disappearing tickets. Some of the remaining premium seats were priced well above $1000, while the cheapest tickets had been snapped up almost immediately.
Now the celebration will reach audiences around the country, with organisers describing the cinema broadcast as an unprecedented undertaking for an Australian concert production of this scale.
“This is far more than a concert screening,” HOYTS Group general manager of programming and content Michelle Gater said.
“Audiences in our cinemas will join the celebration as it unfolds, sharing every performance and every moment live alongside fans at Rod Laver Arena and across Australia.”
The concert itself is shaping up as one of the biggest gatherings of Australian musical talent in years.
More than 120 artists and musicians will take part, with Farnham’s longtime musical director Chong Lim overseeing the arrangements.
The line-up includes Jimmy Barnes, Tina Arena, Keith Urban, Jessica Mauboy, Kate Ceberano, Diesel, Human Nature, Richard Marx, Jon Stevens, Vanessa Amorosi, Ross Wilson, Mahalia Barnes and Farnham’s son Rob.
Celine Dion and Hugh Jackman will also make special remote appearances.
They will be joined by the John Farnham Band, a 38-piece orchestra and choir for a night devoted to the songs that have made Farnham one of the most loved performers in Australian music history.
Farnham himself will not perform at the concert.
The 77-year-old singer has endured a long health battle since being diagnosed with oral cancer in 2022 and has since confirmed he will not return to public singing.
Instead, the night is designed as a celebration of his remarkable career, with proceeds from the Rod Laver Arena event supporting Head and Neck Cancer Australia – an organisation that became particularly meaningful to Farnham and his family following his own diagnosis.
Show producer Tony Cochrane said the overwhelming response to the concert demonstrated just how much Farnham and his music still meant to Australians.
“The extraordinary response to this concert has shown just how deeply John Farnham’s music continues to resonate with Australians,” he said.
“We wanted this celebration to be something truly special, and now, through HOYTS, we have the opportunity to share that experience with John’s fans right across Australia.”
Cinema tickets are now on sale, with the event being shown at HOYTS locations around the country. Standard tickets are priced at $50, with other cinema formats costing slightly more.
For the countless Farnham fans who watched the original concert sell out before they could get anywhere near a ticket, it might just be the next best thing to being there.
And when a cinema full of Farnsy fans inevitably reaches You’re the Voice, we suspect the usual request to keep the noise down during the movie will be quietly forgotten.
Image: Supplied
