Pitch Perfect: Where music & sport meet
Hanna Ellington steps up to the plate to learn what's driving the crossover growth of live music at sporting events
Feature By Hanna Ellington | 5 January 2026
After the 2010 AFL Grand Final ended in a draw, Mushroom Events’ Anna Toman had one week and a million-dollar budget to find a star for the sudden rematch’s halftime show. “I’m thinking, ‘Oh my god!’ I rang Michael Gudinski and told him Lionel Richie’s in Hong Kong this week – five days later, Lionel Richie was here.
He played that Grand Final, and it was one of the best moments ever,” says the executive project director.
Showstopping music…
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