Robbie Williams will headline Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations with epic Opera House performance
Robbie Williams has been confirmed to headline Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The English singer, 50, will fly Down Under in a few days to ring in 2025 in epic style with a performance in front of the Sydney Opera House.
He was said to have gone through weeks of secret negotiations before being officially signed on as the face of Australia’s New Year’s Eve festivities.
Robbie described the performance as the ‘perfect’ way to end the year after his new biopic, Better Man, was filmed in Melbourne with the help of Australian director Michael Gracey.
In a statement released by the ABC confirming his appearance, Robbie said: “I love and adore Australia and the fireworks in Sydney are truly magical.
“Bringing in the new year in the country where my biopic, Better Man, was filmed will be the perfect end to 2024 and the ideal beginning to 2025.
Robbie Williams (pictured) has been confirmed to headline Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations
“I can’t wait to perform and celebrate with my amazing Australian fans.”
His performance will be broadcast live on ABC and ABC iview on December 31, with the party starting at 8.30pm.
The New Year’s Eve show will be hosted by Charlie Pickering, Zan Rowe and Concetta Caristo before the epic fireworks display at the Sydney Harbor Bridge in 2025.
The former Take That star recently reconnected with his love for Australia after filming his upcoming biopic Better Man in Melbourne.
He said he was “gutted” he could not attend the premiere of his biopic, which was due to be released on Boxing Day.
Robbie hopes to return Down Under to attend the AACTA Awards, where his satirical musical biopic has racked up a whopping 16 nominations.
In the biopic, Robbie tells a fictionalized version of his life, following his epic journey to stardom from boy band heartthrob to stadium rocker.
Despite Robbie becoming famous in Britain, the film was shot in Melbourne, recreating iconic locations such as London’s Royal Albert Hall in the Australian city.
The English singer, 50, will fly Down Under in a few days to ring in 2025 in epic style with a performance in front of the Sydney Opera House
The Docklands studio was used to fabricate the famous theater for a scene depicting a landmark moment in Robbie’s career.
Other well-known Melbourne locations used for filming included the Rod Laver Arena and the Intercontinental Melbourne hotel, the Cruden Farm in Langwarrin and the Fawkner Bowls club.
The $173 million production also used Crown Casino, the University of Melbourne, the Melbourne Town Hall and the Melbourne Pavilion to stage scenes.
Colin Brooks, Minister for Creative Industries Victoria, told the Herald Sun that the film’s production represented a huge boost to the state’s economy.
He claimed the film was the largest production ever in Victoria and said it created 2,920 jobs and pumped $142 million into the state economy.
With the help of Australian filmmaker Michael Gracey, who directed the blockbuster The Greatest Showman, Better Man is portrayed as a musical fantasy.
And in a very unusual move, the film portrays Robbie as a monkey using CGI.
Motion capture techniques were used to transform 31-year-old actor Jonno Davies into a lifelike creation of a humanoid ‘monkey’.
Robbie described the performance as the ‘perfect’ way to end the year after his new biopic, Better Man, was filmed in Melbourne with the help of Australian director Michael Gracey.
In the biopic, Robbie tells a fictionalized version of his life, following his journey to stardom from boy band heartthrob to stadium rocker, but he will be played on screen by a CGI monkey.
Other cast members include Australian actors Kate Mulvany (The Great Gatsby), Damon Herriman (Mr InBetween) and Anthony Hayes.
Filmmakers have been careful to avoid comparisons to recent musical biopics such as Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Elton John’s Rocketman.
In an official statement, the production said the film was “a satirical musical based on the life of a pop star.”
The biopic features ‘reinterpretations’ of Robbie’s hit songs and stunning visual effects to explore the ‘inner demons’ the superstar has had to battle over the years.
Robbie rose to fame in the boy band Take That, before launching a successful solo career in 1996.
In 2006, Robbie made it into the Guinness Book of World Records after selling 1.6 million concert tickets in one day.