Entertainment

Kylie Minogue headlines AFL Grand Final with hometown hits set at the MCG

Kiran MachadoPublished 2w ago2 min readBased on 9 sources
Kylie Minogue headlines AFL Grand Final with hometown hits set at the MCG
Photo by QuentinCurran / CC BY-SA 4.0

Kylie Minogue headlined the AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sept. 26, playing a 20-minute set spanning more than three decades to more than 100,000 fans. Billboard

The show was presented as the Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment at the 2026 Toyota AFL Grand Final. The final, between the Fremantle Dockers and the Brisbane Lions, was played on a rain-soaked MCG, according to the league's match report. AFL Minogue had been scheduled to take the stage at around 1.30pm.

It was her first time playing the event in her hometown. She opened with a video montage of home footage from her Melbourne childhood. Then she walked straight into “Love at First Sight.”

The main set moved quickly through “In Your Eyes,” “Get Outta My Way,” “On a Night Like This,” “All the Lovers” and “Spinning Around.” Dancers, pyrotechnics and multiple costume changes kept the pace high. Rain did not stop it. The crowd stayed with her.

Guests carried much of the night. Australian musician William Barton joined Minogue for “Confide in Me,” her 1994 single, bringing didgeridoo to the stadium stage. G Flip opened the pre-game with a two-song set played across three instruments, then returned to duet with Minogue on “Padam Padam,” her 2023 single.

Minogue then staged a fake-out ending with “The Loco-Motion.” The lights dropped. She re-emerged from a giant bedazzled “KYLIE” football to close with “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” Melbourne DJ Dom Dolla appeared alongside her as an “aircraft marshaller” for the finale, which folded in his remix of the song.

Minogue is the first solo Australian act to headline the Grand Final since Paul Kelly in 2019. Her official website marked the occasion with an exclusive limited-edition collection celebrating the 2026 Toyota AFL Grand Final performance.

What makes this stand out is the construction. Short set. Large cast. Quick changes in sound and staging, from childhood footage to a football prop and a DJ-led closer, held together for a stadium audience before the match.

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