Sidney Myer Music Bowl - Arts Centre Melbourne

Capacity: 25,000

Opened: February 12, 1959

It’s been over six decades since the Sidney Myer Music Bowl was launched, and to date, it is still one of the city’s most visited landmarks. The Music Bowl was the first outdoor cultural venue of its size built in Melbourne for different events. Today, many similar and even bigger structures have been developed in the city, but this venue continues to thrive.

For Aussies, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl carries a lot of cultural history and also illustrates the creative phases the country went through. The architectural design of the Bowl that it has come to be characterized by was caused by a shift in thinking in 20th-century Australia.

After the Depression and World Wars, architectural design styles in the country shifted to reflect community and optimism. It was off the back of this that Architect Barry Patten created the free-form design for the roof of the Music Bowl. The bowl was the most important example of this art style when it was built and is still iconic today.

More than just its design, the Sidney Myer multipurpose venue is such an important landmark because of the memories made there. Different iconic events have been held in the arena since the 20th century and in 2024, there are more memories to be made here. Find the next big event in Melbourne and get a cheap ticket on TicketX.

Sidney Myer Music Bowl History

The man the stadium was named after, Sidney Myer, was a Russian migrant who developed one of Australia’s biggest retail organizations. Myer became an important character on the music scene because he organized the Music for the People open-air concerts year after year.

Myer did a lot of philanthropy in music, and when he died, the Sidney Myer Charitable Trust was created based on his wishes for his donations to music to continue. It was this foundation that sponsored the construction of the Music Bowl. The arena and the free concerts that Myer’s foundation still sponsors annually are his legacy in the music industry.

The Australian Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, launched the arena in front of 30,000 people on February 12, 1959. Since that event, the venue has hosted shows of different sizes and genres, attracting thousands of people. For instance, up to 70,000 people came to the Bowl later that month to listen to American Evangelist Billy Graham.

Sidney Myer Music Bowl Events

Only a few venues in Australia have as much history as the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, so it is always a choice location for the country’s biggest shows. The Seekers Homecoming Concert in 1967 attracted about 200,000 people and was held at the Music Bowl. That event set the record for the greatest attendance at a concert in the Southern Hemisphere.

Top entertainers worldwide have brought their tours to Australia and performed at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Some of these excellent performers are Bob Dylan, Metallica, Kanye West, Paramore, The Chainsmokers, Neil Diamond, and Paul McCartney.

There is always a show booked at the Music Bowl. In March 2024, The National and Keine Music will be performing at the arena, and other exciting shows will appear as the year progresses. You can keep track of events at this venue by closely watching TicketX.

How to Get Cheap Sidney Myer Music Bowl Tickets

Has the cost of tickets ever stopped you from attending a concert? If yes, then you should check out the solution TicketX has created. Most people can’t get their tickets from the official source when they are in high demand. This makes people resort to buying secondary tickets at exorbitant rates because the middlemen want to make more profit.

TicketX also acts as a middleman between a buyer and the ticket owner, but its pricing system ensures that the tickets do not get unnecessarily expensive. When a seller puts a ticket up for sale here, they get the full payment for the ticket without any charges when it is sold. Similarly, when a buyer purchases a secondary ticket, the platform only collects a 3% charge.

Sidney Myer Music Bowl Seating Chart

The Sidney Myer Bowl has a wide open space that accommodates thousands of people, but the fixed seating area only accommodates about 2,000 people. If you purchase seat tickets, you can check out the seating chart on TicketX to know where yours will be placed.

In most cases, the closer your seat is to the 27.4-meter-wide stage, the more expensive the ticket is going to be.

Getting to Sidney Myer Music Bowl (Transportation and Parking)

Getting to Sidney Myer Music Bowl via Public Transportation

If you use the tram, the closest station to the Bowl is Tram stop #17 on St Kilda Road. Alternatively, you can use the bus or a train and stop at the station nearest to the venue. For trains, the Flinders Street Train Station is the nearest station to the Bowl. The distance between the station and the arena can be covered in a 15-minute walk.

Getting to Sidney Myer Music Bowl by Car

Most visitors prefer to drive to the arena for their convenience. Input the location on a navigation assistance app and follow directions to the venue. The Music Bowl is hard to miss because of its popularity as a landmark in Australia.

Does Sidney Myer Music Bowl Have On-Site Parking?

There isn’t on-site parking at the venue, but there are different options around where visitors can park. For instance, there is limited parking on the streets around the Bowl. A parking lot owned by the Arts Centre Melbourne nearby stays open for 24 hours every day of the week.

How Much Does Sidney Myer Music Bowl Parking Cost?

Parking at the Arts Centre Melbourne costs between $17 and $35 on a typical day.