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Dannii Minogue dazzles on set of new TV show on set in Melbourne

Dannii Minogue dazzles on set of new TV show on set in Melbourne

Herald Sun2 days ago
Don't miss out on the headlines from Entertainment. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Australian singer and television icon Dannii Minogue has been spotted on set in Melbourne.
The 53-year-old was snapped looking glamorous while filming a new TV show in St Kilda called 'Imposter'.
It marks a return to acting for the radiant younger Minogue sister, who left Home and Away 30 years ago.
Minogue has been filming UK Channel 5's new drama alongside Neighbours legend Jackie Woodburne and young Aussie actor Harrison Popple.
Woodburne was seen sporting a different look — silver hair.
The plot is spun around family betrayal, murder and secret relatives who rise to the surface to create the perfect binge-worthy drama series.
The program will be filmed in Melbourne, with other Australian television stars, such as Don Hany and Jane Harber, set to make appearances.
Popular St Kilda eatery 'Riva Restaurant' has been set-dressed and converted to 'O'Riley On The Pier' hotel, which is an important spot within the drama's plot line.
Many fans are eager awaiting the exciting TV comeback, which is set to air in 2026. Music
Belinda Carlisle reflects on her wild life, from partying with the late Ozzy Osbourne to finding sobriety. TV
As Summer Bay prepares for the exit of Gold Logie-winner Lynne McGranger, read the first review of her character Irene's emotional final episode.
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Massive drone carries national flag in breathtaking Ekka moment in Brisbane
Massive drone carries national flag in breathtaking Ekka moment in Brisbane

7NEWS

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  • 7NEWS

Massive drone carries national flag in breathtaking Ekka moment in Brisbane

It's the Royal Queensland Show moment turning every head skyward: a car-sized drone soaring above the arena, towing a massive six-metre Aussie flag over the main arena timed perfectly with the national anthem. 'It's definitely the first time this has been done in Australia,' said Nick Kozij from Skylighter, the company behind the spectacle. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 'The drone has a huge payload and a whole lot of wow factor.' This was developed in partnership with MAD Drones who, prior to this collaboration, had only ever used drones on large farms. 'We're normally in agriculture, spraying, seeding,' said MAD's chief pilot Marcelo Pullen. 'But this was something special. It literally took flight.' The drone and flag combo soared through rigorous safety protocols, Civil Aviation approvals and secret test runs. 'We did a few more tests actually here in the RNA [Showgrounds]. We had to come in under the cover of 'we were going to do some spraying' and we quickly tested each time and got it down before anybody could get a photo because we wanted to keep it a surprise,' Pullen said. 'Wind, drag, visibility — we had to account for everything,' Kozij explained. 'We even built a custom rig to hold the flag upright mid-air.' With Brisbane hospital helipads nearby and strict no-fly zones in place, the team mapped a precise flight path. 'Rule number one is if you're not willing to land on it, you don't fly over it,' Pullen explained. 'The two-by-two metre drone is locked to a certain altitude and flight path as well. So we can't encroach outside the arena.' The Australian first draws a big 'wow' every night. 'And even while we're sitting here waiting to go in, I think there's probably been about 10,000 photos taken of the drone today, which has been pretty cool,' Kozij said. 'Every night, it's thousands of photos. People are stunned. It's a moment. A real moment.'

‘I can't do this forever': Comedy festival boss considers handing over baton
‘I can't do this forever': Comedy festival boss considers handing over baton

Sydney Morning Herald

time4 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

‘I can't do this forever': Comedy festival boss considers handing over baton

Next year the Melbourne International Comedy Festival turns 40, and for 30 of those years, Susan Provan has been at the helm. 'I can't keep doing it forever,' she says, in what amounts to an exclusive near-reveal, given how vice-like her grip on the top job has been. So, does that mean she has a succession plan in place? 'We are talking,' she says. 'I'm talking with board members about what happens.' Is there a timeline – will you be leaving after the 40th, or could you still be there for the 50th? 'We're not looking at a particular thing at the moment, but I'm certainly not doing another 10 years,' Provan says. 'I am actively thinking about what next. I am actively thinking, 'I can't do this forever.'' Maybe not. But she kind of has been there forever. Although she wasn't officially part of the festival team for its first decade, Provan was there at the outset. 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And they were off. The festival has been on a more or less unbroken trajectory of growth ever since, interrupted only by the COVID-hit years of 2020 (when it was cancelled entirely, less than a fortnight from opening night) and 2021, when attendances were down about 45 per cent and box office by a third on the pre-COVID results. Attendances still haven't reached the 2019 peak of 776,737 (including free events and tickets), but in all other respects 2025 was a record year. The festival staged 696 shows in 182 performance spaces, for a total of 7804 performances. There were 646,864 paying customers (and 707,388 total attendances, including at free events) for a box office of $22.9 million, up marginally on the previous year's then-record $22.6 million. And after a couple of years of running deficits, the festival this year turned a small surplus. 'We've bounced back,' says Provan. 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While most acts in the festival are self-staged or put on by commercial promoters, the festival itself (the part Provan oversees) is responsible for the international acts, typically about 25 in all. Loading Provan's team is also responsible for building and staffing the festival's key infrastructure. 'We build about 35 rooms, and it's incredibly expensive to build a whole lot of venues just for four weeks,' says Provan. 'The cost of lighting, sound gear, drapes, staging, all of that stuff, has become so much more expensive over the past five years.' The festival employs about 400 people over the month it runs, and Provan prides herself on the fact they are all paid. 'I think it's wrong where you see volunteers at other festivals,' she says. 'The front-of-house staff, techies, box-office staff, they're all skilled tradespeople. They know what they're doing. They are crucial to make such a big festival run smoothly.' Provan's team also run key festival events, including the Gala, RAW Comedy (the open-mic competition), Deadly Funny (for First Nations comedians), Class Clowns (for teens) and the Festival Club. And when the whole shebang is over, they send a small selection of acts around the country on the Festival Roadshow. That all costs a lot of money – $11.1 million in 2024, the last year for which a fully audited financial report is available. Most of that comes from ticket sales, while the state government contributes about $2.12 million (baseline funding of about $1.7 million, the same it has been since 2011, plus some top-up grants). According to Provan, that equates to just $2.79 per audience member. 'The big challenge is securing that core funding that enables us to deliver the festival base with confidence,' she says. 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You look at the Edinburgh Fringe, which is a relatively small city – they sell over 2 million tickets because they have audiences coming from all over.' With all thoughts of handing on the baton shelved for the moment, Provan adds: 'I'd like to, in the near future, hit a million ticket sales. And then, onwards and upwards.'

‘How has that happened?' Labor challenged over $1m funding to global music festival giant
‘How has that happened?' Labor challenged over $1m funding to global music festival giant

Sydney Morning Herald

time4 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

‘How has that happened?' Labor challenged over $1m funding to global music festival giant

NSW Labor is under pressure to redirect $3 million earmarked to help music festivals get back on their feet to strictly smaller homegrown shows after the Greens raised questions about two festivals with foreign company ties receiving $1 million in taxpayer subsidies. Listen Out and Field Day were among five festivals awarded up to $500,000 each by the Minns government last year to stem a wave of festival cancellations. Parliament heard Fuzzy, the Australian operator of Listen Out and Field Day, is now part of British global empire of Superstruct Entertainment, which is in turn, owned by private equity firm KKR, now subject to a growing artist boycott over the nature of its investment portfolio. 'Superstruct holds a portfolio of over 85 festivals worldwide,' Greens' music spokesperson Cate Faehrmann told the NSW parliament last week. 'At a time when our beloved grassroots music festivals are folding because of lack of financial viability, with no indication yet that government user-pays charges have eased, the government is handing taxpayer dollars to a multinational conglomerate that is acquiring our local festivals as part of its international expansion. How has that happened?' In KKR's investment portfolio, Faehrmann said, was a German media company that has reportedly advertised Israel's illegal settlements in the West Bank, and a real estate software company said to have facilitated the rental of properties on occupied land. 'The eligibility criteria for this fund must be reviewed in light of these revelations,' she said outside parliament. 'The fund needs to be better targeted towards independent and Australian-owned​​ music festivals and the requirement that it only apply to festivals catering to 15,000 or more people must also be scrapped.' The latest controversy points to growing sensitivities around the globalisation of all parts of the music industry from streaming services to ticketing platforms and the ability of homegrown promoters, festivals and artists to compete. Waverley Council recently awarded Fuzzy, which was established in Australia in the 1990s and goes by the mantra 'good times done properly', a licence to produce a New Year's Eve event at Bondi Beach for 15,000 people this year.

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