Court rejects Australian Grand Prix appeal over $2.84m damages for cancelled Robbie Williams gig

The Australian Grand Prix has failed to overturn a court judgment that left it on the hook for millions of dollars over a cancelled Robbie Williams concert.

The English singer had been booked to perform as part of the Formula 1 event in Melbourne in 2020 that was canned just hours before gates opened on March 13.

Williams’ concert had been booked for March 14 at Lakeside Stadium, while Miley Cyrus had also been booked to perform the previous day but had pulled out days earlier amid Covid-19 fears.

The concert organiser, World Touring Melbourne, successfully sued the Australian Grand Prix, with the Victorian Supreme Court awarding $2.84m in damages plus interest and legal costs in 2024.

At the time, Justice Clyde Croft found the event organisers had misled World Touring Melbourne by claiming Victoria’s then-chief health officer Brett Sutton had issued a direction that the event should not go ahead.

Instead, Dr Sutton had told the Australian Grand Prix at 8am on March 13 that it was “recommended” the Formula 1 race be cancelled or made spectator-free due to Covid-19 concerns.

In a text message later that afternoon, Dr Sutton was asked by the Australian Grand Prix organisers if the concert should also be cancelled.

He responded by saying he’d “absolutely support that decision”, but it was “ultimately for organisers”.

World Touring Melbourne had argued that if Dr Sutton’s actual advice had been passed on, it would have continued with the concert.

Other major sporting events and concerts, including a concert by New Order nearby at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl the same weekend, proceeded.

The Australian Grand Prix appealed Justice Croft’s decision to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the case on Monday.

Victoria was placed into a state of emergency on March 16, 2020 – two days after the cancelled Williams concert. The move gave authorities broad powers to bar large gatherings.

Last month it was announced Williams would be the headline act for the Melbourne Cup in November as part of a tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Originally published as Court rejects Australian Grand Prix appeal over $2.84m damages for cancelled Robbie Williams gig