The capital of North Queensland became “Pinksville” as (very full) trains, planes and automobiles, not to mention dusty utes, Toyota wagons and bush buses, poured in from all corners of the north for the final two concerts of singing superstar P!NK’s 2024 national Summer Carnival tour.
60,000-plus fans clad in more shades of pink than an outback sunset, many from cattle stations across the north, dusted off their boots from Mt Isa to Mackay, Cooktown to Charters Towers and Boulia to Bowen to converge on a “sold out” Townsville.
The central attraction was P!NK (real name Alecia Beth Moore), a 5’3, mid- forties, east coast of American born mother of two with a cool haircut, also an actress, acrobat, rebel, social activist, philanthropist, powerful advocate for gender equality – and a farmer!
Queensland is the only State where P!NK played across three separate cities and the two sell out Townsville concerts were her only regional stops.
The two regional stadium hosted events alone contributed an estimated $50 million plus in economic benefits to the NQ city and region.
Her appeal to those who live in rural, remote and regional communities was evident from the fact that many travelled several hours and at considerable cost just to see her perform.
Image source: Bring P!NK to Townsville Facebook page
Perhaps this is because she really is just a country girl at heart, and her music and values are about the things that matter to rural and regional and country town Australians.
Townsville-based Senator Susan McDonald, who hails from Cloncurry and is no stranger to travelling all day from an isolated cattle property to attend a concert in the big smoke, was among the many country fans joining the P!NK party in Townsville.
Susan believes the fact that P!NK says (sings) what she thinks and does what she says, and has a no bull and no shades of grey attitude to life – something rare in a global entertainment superstar – is a key to why she is so loved in rural and regional areas.
”She is an advocate for common sense, has a strong sense of self and individual responsibility and a fair go for all, and will go against the grain and give voice to the realities of life even if it is not popular, all characteristics that rural, regional and country folk demonstrate every day”.
Townsville local Natalie Cook, herself no slouch when it comes to achievements on a global stage, having won Gold in beach volleyball at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, clocked her fourth P!NK concert in Queensland.
“I think that she is at heart a very authentic person, is grateful for what she has, works hard and celebrates her successes, understands the value of family, has had to fight for recognition, has strong beliefs and is willing to stand up for them.
“She also instinctively relates to the openness and can-do attitude of Aussies and wears her heart on her sleeve, and we love her as much as she loves us”.
In tribute to the superstar’s visit, regional Queenslanders across the north found a myriad of ways to celebrate her touch down in Australia including turning country race meeting Fashions of the Field pink, draping the iconic Castle Hill which towers over Townsville in pink lighting at night, and schools, restaurants, bars and local businesses also all going pink for the week.
Image source: Bring P!NK to Townsville Facebook page
Two kangaroos at Townsville’s Billabong Sanctuary now carry the names of her two children, while a mural on a Townsville CBD building wall is provides another lasting reminder of her memorable visit.
Rumours of a P!NK statue appearing next to that of North Queensland Cowboys legend Johnathan Thurston at the entrance to the Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville however could not be confirmed.
In Australia, P!NK punches in the heavyweight class in every statistical category.
Now that the 2024 Summer Carnival is done and dusted, her total ticket sales down under have exceeded 3.1 million across six tours, the largest career ticket sales ever accumulated by an international performer in ANZ, according to Live Nation.
Her career tally includes more than 658,000 tickets sold on her 2009 Funhouse tour, which spanned 58 arena shows; and her 2013 The Truth About Love trek, which played 46 arena shows and shifted more than 600,000 tickets.
“P!NK’s original 2024 scheduled Aussie shows sold out in minutes across the country, and making the decision to extend her tour into North Queensland was a logical one in terms of meeting this unprecedented demand,” a Live Nation Australia spokesperson, said.
Recently Michael Coppel from Live Nation presented the Philadelphia pop superstar with a special award, a memento of her latest recording-busting efforts.
“There is a palpable mutual love affair between the Australasian audience that love seeing her perform live and an artist who clearly loves being here,” Mr Coppel said.
Prior to the COVID shutdown in 2020 P!NK moved her family to a 200-acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County in California to escape the big city lifestyle.
When not touring P!NK spends her time producing wine and grows vegetables.
And we can only speculate – perhaps also enjoying an occasional steak cooked to perfection and served to her favourite colour, somewhere between well done and rare – you guessed it!
So, let’s raise a glass to this honorary Aussie who hopefully will return to our shores in the not-too-distant future to get the party started once again.
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