MELBOURNE: The Australian Open, which concluded Sunday, set a new attendance benchmark with over 780,000 fans passing through Melbourne Park for the tennis calendar’s first Grand Slam.
The previous record of 743,667 set last year was surpassed by a long mile this year which saw Japan’s Naomi Osaka crowned the women’s champion and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic claiming his record seventh Australian Open title and 15th Grand Slam overall.
Fans lapped up cheaper tickets in 2019 – a strategic move by organisers to get bums on seats – as well as the updated ‘grand slam oval’, which was surrounded by pop-up restaurants, bars and sponsored activity zones, Australian Associated Press reports.
Nightly performances included concerts and DJs, with international acts Craig David and Bastille among the line-up.
The event was beamed into some 900 million homes internationally as the men’s and women’s finals were aired live on more than 75 TV networks.
With the event done for another year, the focus turns to stage three of the Melbourne Park redevelopment. Works will include a new show court, new function and media centre, central kitchen and a logistic hub. Stage three is expected to be completed by the start of the 2023 Open.
