American popstar Katy Perry will be joined by Australian singer-turned-swimmer Cody Simpson for the AFL’s grand final pre-game entertainment.
Simpson will perform in front of a large crowd at a stadium for the first time since he decided to pursue swimming in 2019.
He dropped the guitar and microphone to chase his Olympic dream, having swum competitively as a kid, before music got in the way.
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Simpson was a member of Australia’s 2022 Commonwealth Games team, but didn’t make the Paris 2024 Olympics, effectively putting an end to his foray into the sport.
He won gold as a heat swimmer at Birmingham 2022 for Australia’s men’s freestyle relay team.
Also included in Perry’s support acts are multi-time ARIA award-winning artist Christine Anu, singer-songwriter Zipporah Corser-Anu and September favourite Mike Brady.
Mother-daughter duo Christine and Zipporah will perform together during the First Nations ceremony, Mike Brady will perform one of his iconic and now customary footy classics during the AFL retiree motorcade ceremony, and Simpson will take honour of singing the national anthem.
It’s the second time the AFL has called on Simpson to perform the national anthem at one of its showpiece events, after the 2022 AFLW grand final at Brisbane’s home base, Brighton Homes Arena.
“I’m stoked beyond words to have been asked to sing the biggest national anthem of the year at the AFL grand final,” Simpson said in a statement.
“It’s a special and timely opportunity for me to step back on stage for the first time after my sporting career.
“As an Australian, it’s one of the greatest honours and I hope I can deliver something that everyone can sing along to and share in the pride of being a member of this beautiful country.”
Simpson also sung the national anthem at Flemington for the 2022 Melbourne Cup.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said the league was thrilled to welcome a host of home grown artists to perform at the MCG.
“The AFL is proud to have a host of talented Australian artists as part of our Telstra pre-game entertainment as we celebrate the end of another outstanding season,” Dillon said.
“Cody, Christine, Zipporah and Mike are no strangers to performing on some of the biggest stages and are ready to put on a spectacular show at the ‘G on the last Saturday in September.
“I’d like to thank Telstra for its ongoing support of our pre-game entertainment and look forward to seeing our Aussie artists, together with international icon Katy Perry, perform in front of the 100,000 fans in-stadium and the millions watching at home.”