Harry Styles has done a shoey and sung The Horses on his Australian tour.
Now he’s heading to the Gold Coast to hold the city’s biggest concert by a solo performer. Here’s what you need to know.
Hang on, what’s a shoey?
It’s fairly self-explanatory. Basically, it’s drinking out of a shoe.
The shoey has risen to popularity in Australia and abroad, with crowds regularly egging on athletes and artists to drink out of their footwear.
After taking a swig from his own sneaker at his Perth concert, Styles said it was “one of the most disgusting traditions” he’d ever heard of.
So why’s he on the Gold Coast?
An international artist like Harry Styles would usually perform in the capital city.
But he’s bypassing Brisbane to perform his only Queensland show on the Gold Coast on Tuesday, February 28, with about 48,000 people expected to attend.
Major Events Gold Coast CEO Jan McCormick said the organisation worked with his promoter to secure the gig.
She said it was a big win for the city, and part of a plan to attract more international acts.
“To get Harry for his only Queensland show was a very proud moment,” Ms McCormick said.
“With regards to competing with Brisbane, I didn’t give it much thought to be honest. We went for it as hard as we could and we got it.”
How do I get to the Harry Styles concert?
Public transport will be the way to go.
The gig is at Carrara Stadium, which usually hosts AFL matches, and organisers say there will be no parking available at the venue.
Limited accessible parking is available.
Parking restrictions will also be enforced on local streets.
Ticketholders can use public transport for free on the day of the show.
Additional public transport services will be put on for the concert, with shuttle buses from Nerang Station, Boowaggan Road Park n’ Ride, and Broadbeach South Light Rail.
Right now it’s all systems go at Carrara Stadium.
About 130 semi-trailers carrying gear for staging, flooring and production have been brought in to prepare for the gig.
Set-up at the stadium started on Monday and pack-down won’t be finished until March 2.
Two hundred additional toilets, 2 kilometres of temporary fencing and 8km of crowd control barriers will be brought in
Should I get to the concert early?
Well, it depends how early.
The stadium is strictly prohibiting fans from camping out overnight.
But ticketholders will be allowed to start queuing from 8am on Tuesday.
What does this mean for the Gold Coast?
A weeknight in late February isn’t typically a busy time for accommodation on the Gold Coast — but with the arrival of the international pop star, the city’s occupancy is expected to be at about 75 per cent on Tuesday.
That’s because about 80 per cent of ticketholders are travelling to the concert from outside the region.
“I’d say there is a big market coming down from Brisbane, they’re going to come down and party and stay the night,” Ms McCormick said.
Ms McCormick said it was “absolutely unheard of” to be so busy midweek at this time of year.
“I’m hoping that people come in for the weekend, stay the Monday, do the concert Tuesday,” she said.
“From an economy point of view, that’s a wonderful, wonderful thing.”
Over the past year, acts including Guns and Roses and Queen have performed at Carrara Stadium.
“It’s great for the city, it’s great for our reputation in hosting major events and it’s about building a reputation and having a city embrace these things,” she said.
Ms McCormick said the concert would be a turning point for the Gold Coast’s future hosting big events.
“We’re dealing with events in 2024 and 2025 now,” she said.