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Sport / Melbourne, VIC

The biggest moments of Kylie Minogue's AFL grand final show

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AFLArts Culture and Entertainment

Changed after publishing · 2 edits
  • the headline was changed: 'A homecoming like this? I should be so lucky': The biggest moments of Kylie Minogue's memorable AFL grand final show
  • the headline was changed: The biggest moments of 'A homecoming like this? I should be so lucky': Kylie Minogue's memorable AFL grand final show

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  • Kylie Minogue beat the elements to dazzle more than 100,000 fans at the MCG, plus many more at home, for the AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment.
  • Opening with a video package, voiced over by Minogue herself, images of kid-Kylie were spliced with footage of teams playing in the final, setting the tone of the night ahead.
  • One of the biggest challenges heading into today's show would've been finding a way to cram more than 30 years of hits into 20 minutes on stage.
  • Hard-cut to Ms Minogue, paired with blue-clad dancers and pyrotechnics as she kicked things off with Love at First Sight.
  • Aussie musician, and die-hard magpies fan, G Flip kicked off the pre-show on their signature drum kit with Worst Person Alive.

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Kylie Minogue beat the elements to dazzle more than 100,000 fans at the MCG, plus many more at home, for the AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment.

If anyone has the power to stop the rain at the MCG, it's Australia's Kylie, whose 20 minute set was full to the brim with greatest hits, costume changes and literal spinning around in the sky.

She said "a Melbourne girl performing in her hometown".

Opening with a video package, voiced over by Minogue herself, images of kid-Kylie were spliced with footage of teams playing in the final, setting the tone of the night ahead.

Here are the biggest moments from the show.

One of the biggest challenges heading into today's show would've been finding a way to cram more than 30 years of hits into 20 minutes on stage. Here's what Minogue sang:

Confide in Me (1994) with William Barton

Can't Get You Out of My Head (2001) feat Dom Dolla remix

A young pig-tailed 'Kylie' wearing a school uniform entered the pitch, headphones in, slowly pacing as the real Kylie readied herself on stage.

Hard-cut to Ms Minogue, paired with blue-clad dancers and pyrotechnics as she kicked things off with Love at First Sight.

Kylie followed the opener with a few of more of her 2000s hits, more blue dancing and backup singers clad in white.

A jaw-dropping tone shift took place when Kalkadunga songman William Barton entered the stage to play guitar for Minogue's 1994 track Confide in Me.

Both dressed in black and gold, with matching gold microphone and pyrotechnics, accompanied by orchestral strings, the two strutted towards each other on the catwalk for the broody ballad.

Things switched back to dance mode when red-clad showgirls set the scene for the 2023 mega-hit Padam Padam.

This time teaming up with G Flip, also head to toe in red, Minogue and G delivered a rock rendition of the song.

In classic Kylie fashion, a bit of flair was on show with a classic fake-out ending to the show.

"Wait did you hear that sound?" Minogue asked.

Thanks to Kylie, we now all know what it sounds like to hear more than 100,000 football fans rise to their feet to do the Loco-Motion.

And as if that wasn't enough, one more big surprise was in store when Minogue emerged from a giant bedazzled "KYLIE" footy.

Charging through the sky, in what may possibly have been the camera fly system, Kylie spun around the stadium to finish her concert with Can't Get You Out of My Head.

Kylie kicked things off in a singlet featuring a vintage poster of her own face (goals), black hotpants flanked by red and white full-length tassels and black knee-highs.

Next, was a small black dress, featuring more tassels, and gold knee-highs. Those with a keen eye would've clocked a small footy-shorts-esque "2026 Grand Final" embossed in gold and "MINOGUE" plastered on her back.

A floor length golden jacket was added to the kit as William Barton entered the stage.

And for one final reveal, Kylie emerged wearing a silver-white gown and black shades as she flew through the stadium sky.

The AFL Grand Final entertainment wasn't ALL about Kylie.

Aussie musician, and die-hard magpies fan, G Flip kicked off the pre-show on their signature drum kit with Worst Person Alive.

Leaping down to jump on strings, they followed up with 2026 Aria-nominated hit Bed on Fire.

And because three instruments are better than two, G whipped out the sax to wrap up their set.

As retired players completed their lap of honour around the MCG, Mike Brady performed his anthem, Up There Cazaly, synonymous with the Aussie Rules code.

Pressed for answers as to what the show would contain all week, Kylie hinted at some "Easter eggs".

Some of the die-hard fans may have noticed the disco-clad dancers part way through Kylie's set.

A nod to her 2020 lockdown album or the glittery club track Your Disco Needs You from 20 years before?

A bit more obvious, was a potential staging mishap with Minogue nearly getting stuck in her safety harness post-flight. But ever the professional, Kylie saluted the technicians, I mean flight crew, and carried on to finish the show.

And if you found yourself going "I've seen those blokes on the internet somewhere", you weren't wrong, as Australian comedy duo The Inspired Unemployed conducted the Loco-Motion across the MCG.

Minogue may have jam-packed that 20 minute set as much as humanly possible, but like all good performances, the crowd could've eaten up 20 minutes more.

If only there wasn't a schedule clash with another big event in the stadium that night.

In the words of Kylie herself "On a night like this, I wanna stay forever."

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is ABC News (Just In)'s report with its verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

How outlets headlined it

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  • ABC News (Just In) The biggest moments of Kylie Minogue's AFL grand final show plain
  • The West Australian Fremantle Dockers arrive in Melbourne for AFL grand final as Brennan Cox and Oscar McDonald await selection plain
  • The West Australian AFL grand final teams: Fremantle Dockers make call on Brennan Cox, Oscar McDonald against Brisbane Lions plain
  • The West Australian Fremantle Dockers arrive in Melbourne two days out from grand final against Brisbane on Saturday plain
  • The West Australian 2026 AFL Grand Final: The match-ups that are crucial to Fremantle Dockers and Brisbane Lions’ hopes plain
  • The West Australian Fremantle Dockers lead with the head in call not to play Brennan Cox on Grand Final day plain
  • The West Australian Paul Hasleby: Where Fremantle Dockers could win or lose AFL Grand Final against Brisbane plain
  • The West Australian Geraldton fans are supporting the Dockers all the way to Melbourne for this year's 2026 AFL grand final plain
  • The West Australian Fremantle College gets behind Fremantle Dockers in iconic way a day before the 2026 AFL Grand Final 1 change

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Outlet Niral ScoreAdjectivesSourcingSentimentHappiness
ABC News (Just In)as they published this story 14.9 22 29 0.1 46.4
Mundane Readneutralized from ABC News (Just In) 10.7 21 29 0.1 53.8

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