Katy Perry has announced she will head Down Under for the Lifetimes Tour.
The Roar singer will hit Australia in 2025, performing at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, and Perth’s RAC Arena.
“I am super keen to announce The Lifetimes tour, and I’m rolling out dates first in Australia,” Perry said on Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
“It’s been a long time, but I feel like I’m totally ready for it. It’s a high energy singalong with all the songs that everybody knows and more.”
The tour will kick off in June, and will follow Perry’s performance at the 2024 AFL Grand Final between the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions this weekend.
The performance at the major sporting event has sparked speculation of controversy, with footy journalist Tom Morris reporting the AFL had requested Perry to stick to her hits rather than performing tracks from her new album 143.
“The AFL are saying, ‘We only want your hits. We only want your bangers. We only want your best stuff’,” Morris said on SEN.
“We want Roar, We want Teenage Dream, we want Firework. They want all the songs we know and love. And she’s pushed back and said, ‘No, no I want to play two of my new songs.
“You know when you go to a concert and maybe they’re old and all you want is their good stuff. You just want their greatest hits. That’s what the AFL have requested with Katy Perry. And she’s gone, clearly, I want to promote some of my new music.”
However Morris on Monday told SEN Breakfast the 39-year-old had reached an agreement to play just one new song.
The pop star, 39, earlier expressed her excitement about the gig at the MCG.
“I’m so excited to be back in Australia and back at the mighty MCG to perform in front of 100,000 of the best and loudest fans in the world at this year’s Toyota AFL Grand Final. See you in September Oi Oi Oi!” she said.
AFL executive general manager customer and commercial Kylie Rogers previously said the AFL was thrilled to have Perry perform the Grand Final.
“Katy Perry is an international music icon who has been entertaining fans with her chart-topping hits for many years, so the AFL is delighted to have her join us at the 2024 Toyota AFL Grand Final in what will be a spectacular Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment performance,” she said.
“The AFL continues to attract world class artists to our game, and we’re honoured to have Katy Perry on board to entertain a full house at the MCG and the millions of fans tuning in across the world.”
Mushroom Group chief executive Matt Gudinski also said he was thrilled to have secured another global icon for the massive sporting event.
“The AFL Grand Final is Australia’s biggest sporting event and together with the AFL, Mushroom has delivered a stellar entertainment line-up year after year and 2024 is no different,” he said.
“Following the incredibly well received performances from Robbie Williams (2022) and KISS (2023) I’m thrilled that Mushroom has upped the ante once again, securing global icon Katy Perry for the 2024 Toyota AFL Grand Final.”
More to come.
