Why international musicians are shunning Perth is set to be topic for the 2025 state election with Liberal candidate, and Perth’s Lord Mayor, Basil Zempilas asking why the state is not a desirable destination for big entertainment acts.
While Kylie Minogue is making Perth the starting point for her 2025 world tour and Fat Boy Slim has just announced a massive show on the Perth foreshore next year, several high-profile acts skipped Perth off their itinerary.
Notably Perth didn’t get to see Taylor Swift this time round, nor did Oliva Rodrigo head to the west coast. Oasis are only playing shows in Sydney and Melbourne, and Troye Sivan faced a huge backlash where there was no hometown show for his world tour. Sivan later added an appearance at the Spilt Milk House Party festival.
Zempilas, who is running in the seat of Churchlands and next year’s state election, raised the issue in his weekly column in The West Australian and during his weekly interview on 6PR.
Earlier this year Zempilas laid out his plan for Perth to host the world’s biggest DJ festival on the Perth foreshore, a proposal that’s been backed by his City of Perth colleagues.
“Why is it that so many of these acts are bypassing or not coming to Perth?” Zempilas asked 6PR host Gary Adshead.
‘We have the venues.” Zempilas argued. “If you want a big open-air concert, we’ve got Optus or other places, and if you want a proper auditorium for rock concerts, we have the RAC Arena.”
“Why is it that Dua Lipa for example is not coming to Perth” the Lord Mayor asked, before noting that The Weeknd had also left Perth off his schedule, and Oasis was not coming to this side of the country.
Promoters have often cited Perth’s distance from other cities as being one of the reasons many international acts can’t make it across the Nullarbor, especially when their shows involve elaborate sets and big entourages.
Perth audiences have also been described as fickle and slow to buy tickets to touring events with some medium sized shows reporting ticket sales might only take off a week ahead of an artist playing in the city.
Fitting a Perth show into a multiple city itinerary is also sometimes reported to be a scheduling challenge, with promoters just not able to make venue bookings fit into their available dates.
