Michael Buble plays the Sydney Football Stadium swan song

It might have been built for football, but it is fitting that the Sydney Football Stadium, aka Allianz Stadium, had its eulogy delivered by a musician.

And it is perfectly appropriate that this particular stadium’s eulogy was delivered by this particular musician.

Michael Buble plays the last event ever at Allianz Stadium.Credit:Cole Bennetts

Effortlessly charming and clearly as enamoured with his Australian fans as they are with him, Michael Buble came prepared.

“I don’t know how, personally, I made it through,” he said. “This morning I wondered if I could muster the power to be here tonight. Because like many of you ... I went through ... the finale of The Bachelor last night.”

The laughs were genuine as he demonstrated how well he had been coached before he walked out, and how much he cared to be bothered as he cracked gags about the “honey badger” and “Britney and Sophie” and our collective national confusion.

Buble may seem like an unlikely act to play a stadium show – his regular appearances down under have been in concert halls and arenas – but this is a man who holds the audience in the palm of his hand as he zooms through covers of Sinatra and Darin, weaves in his originals, and leaves you wondering which one was which.

While Buble’s dream of belting out Cry Me A River as the stadium came crashing down around him wasn’t meant to be (demolition is due to start around March), it was nonetheless a fitting way to end the venue’s career just as Buble was returning to his.

Michael Buble was effortlessly charming.Credit:Cole Bennetts

The 43-year-old has taken a step back from recording and touring over the past two years after his son Noah was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016. The diagnosis nearly saw Buble quit music for good.

But with Noah now on the road to recovery, it’s time for Buble to get back into the recording studio and back on the road, admitting the support he received from his fans was a major driver in his decision to return to the stage.

And, whether he was coached or was genuine, he did seem touched to have been selected to bring down the curtain on Allianz.

“This stadium has seen rugby finals, Bono, U2, Streisand, Coldplay,” he said.

“You don’t know how much it means to me to be the one who got the call to do this.”

His 10th studio album Love is out in November and this Allianz Stadium closer seems more like a curtain raiser for a future tour on the back of the new album.

But when he does return, it is highly unlikely he will play whatever is built in the place of Allianz. The renovations and rebuilding are expected to take at least three years, and Qudos Bank Arena at Homebush is the much-preferred concert venue for artists due to its slightly easier-to-fill capacity.
Buble himself has played his last two tours there.

As it stands, about 33,000 people joined Buble to say goodbye to Allianz – 12,000 fewer than the stadium can hold and about 11,000 fewer than the attendance record – but still a solid effort for a rainy Friday night.