Suncorp Stadium, Accor Stadium Saluted In Global Top 20 Report

Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, Sydney’s Accor Stadium and Auckland’s Eden Park are among the world’s top 20 stadiums, according to a new report.

The big three venues are listed in the inaugural “Stadium Stars,” featured in the latest edition of IQ, the UK-based live and touring specialist, published by ILMC.

The feature, a “major new global live music industry list celebrating the 20 venues that represent the best concert experiences at this scale,” is published in IQ’s Global Stadium Report, its research based on nominations by the trade title’s global readers, with the final selection made by a music industry panel.

Suncorp Stadium, a 60,000-capacity venue of Stadiums Queensland, is managed by ASM Global and has hosted 41 concerts since 2006.

The venue in Milton, neighbouring the iconic XXXX brewery and located on the edge of CBD, will play a key role when the River City hosts the 2032 Olympic Games.

“Part of our Management model includes maintaining excellent relationships with stakeholders at all levels ensuring that putting on a concert here is as streamlined as possible,” comments Julie O’Keeffe Suncorp Stadium Interim General Manager.

The 83,500-capacity Accor Stadium is managed by Venues NSW, a NSW government agency. “Australia’s second-largest stadium, located in the continent’s largest city, is a model of green design,” reads the IQ report. “The Olympic-purposed stadium’s open bowl structure is partly covered by an overhanging roof, the design of which minimises shadows and direct sunlight on the pitch.”

Meanwhile, 125-year-old Eden Park, NZ’s national stadium, and the home of the All Blacks, is managed by The Eden Park Trust Board, an independent charitable trust.

Eden Park “stands out as a premier touring destination,” the report reads. “As New Zealand’s largest venue, it doubles as a host to sporting events and major concerts, with the clearance to host 12 shows annually.”

There’s no room on the list, however, for the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the nation’s biggest stadium with a capacity north of 100,000, or Melbourne’s 53,000-max Marvel Stadium, a marvel with a retractable roof.

The list is published as ANZ gears-up for another bumper run of summer stadium shows, which will include tours by AC/DC, Oasis, Metallica, Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran.

Recent stadium jaunts in the parts have included The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn Tour; Luke Combs’ AU/NZ Tour 2025; Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour; P!nk’s Summer Carnival 2024 and Travis Scott’s UTOPIA – Circus Maximus Tour.