‘No one stops a nation like me’: How Flemington landed pop superstar Robbie Williams

October 29, 2026 — 11:00amWhen Kylie Rogers went looking for a global superstar to perform at this year’s Melbourne Cup, she knew exactly who she wanted.Robbie Williams, the British pop icon who had helped transform the AFL grand final’s pre-match entertainment four years earlier, was at the top of her list.Victoria Racing Club chief executive Kylie Rogers.Alex CoppelThe Victoria Racing Club boss approached Williams armed with one of Australian sport’s most recognisable marketing slogans.This, after all, is the race that stops a nation.Williams’ response was characteristically modest.“No one stops a nation like me. I’m in.”Robbie Williams wowed the audience at the 2022 AFL grand final.Scott BarbourIf there was ever any doubt about just how far the Victoria Racing Club was prepared to go in its pursuit of the world’s biggest entertainers, consider the lengths it went to for Williams.In the penthouse suite of a five-star hotel in London’s exclusive Mayfair district, one of the world’s biggest pop stars was waiting for a date with Australia’s most famous sporting trophy.Williams was in the middle of his hectic European BRITPOP tour when a rare opening emerged in his schedule. The VRC had been given the green light over the weekend, but there was one significant logistical hurdle: the Melbourne Cup was on the other side of the world.So, on Monday night, the famous trophy was put on a plane to London, accompanied by a VRC representative, for what would amount to a fleeting audience with British pop royalty.Robbie Williams in London with the Melbourne Cup.By Wednesday, the Cup had made its way to Williams’ Mayfair penthouse, where the VRC had secured just 60 minutes with the singer and the trophy for a promotional photo shoot. Thousands of kilometres travelled, an international flight and an extraordinary logistical exercise, all for one hour in front of the cameras.The investment is about to pay off. Williams will perform four songs in Flemington’s mounting yard before the Melbourne Cup, bringing a dose of international pop spectacle to the race that stops a nation.Then, he’ll play for another hour after the last race.For Rogers, it was a significant moment in an ambitious campaign to transform Flemington from one of the world’s great racecourses into one of Australia’s great entertainment destinations.Kylie Minogue performs at the MCG. via Getty ImagesShe calls it the “festivalisation of sport”.Having helped revolutionise the AFL’s grand final entertainment during her time as one of the league’s most senior executives, Rogers is now applying the same philosophy to the Melbourne Cup carnival.“Whether you call it the festivalisation of sport or sportainment, it’s incumbent upon every sports administrator out there to offer more than just the sport,” Rogers says.“You see it in Australia and globally.”It is a philosophy that challenges the traditional relationship between sport and its spectators.The premise is straightforward: the racing might be the main attraction, but it should not have to carry the entire experience.A racegoer might spend eight hours at Flemington, watch three or four races, enjoy a fashion show, indulge in the hospitality of the Birdcage and finish the afternoon watching one of the world’s biggest musical acts.And for those who arrive more interested in the music than the horses, Rogers sees an opportunity rather than a threat.Her thinking was shaped during her years at AFL headquarters, where she arrived in 2017, the year The Killers delivered what many still regard as the benchmark grand final performance.Rogers loved the entertainment, but believed the AFL could go further.“I wanted a production, not just a band on stage belting out tunes,” she says.“It felt like the artists were miles away. Didn’t matter where you were sitting, I don’t think we maximised the connection to the artists by having a still stage, where artists are just facing one side of the stadium.”Her solution was to transform the traditional concert into a choreographed, 360-degree production, designed as much for the television audience as the 100,000 spectators inside the MCG.The breakthrough came in 2022, when Rogers, then acting AFL chief executive while Gillon McLachlan was overseas negotiating broadcast rights, received an unexpected phone call.Williams was in Melbourne performing at Rod Laver Arena while working on his biopic, Better Man, and wanted to meet the AFL chief executive.With McLachlan unavailable, Rogers got the invitation.She met Williams backstage and seized her opportunity.“I said to him, ‘We have the greatest game in the world. You are the greatest performer in the world. How about you play at our grand final?’”Williams looked at his manager and agreed on the spot.What followed was an unusually collaborative production, with Williams involved in everything from the staging and choreography to the selection of songs.His performance included a tribute to John Farnham, an appearance by Delta Goodrem and subtle references to Olivia Newton-John.“That was the first year when we broke the template and the model of band on stage, facing one way, singing, to a choreographed production around the field,” Rogers says.The AFL subsequently brought Kiss, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg and Kylie Minogue to the MCG. Minogue’s show was accompanied by an aggressive marketing campaign and merch extravaganza, ensuring the league got bang for its substantial buck.Now Rogers has reunited with Williams at Flemington. She would not be drawn on his price tag, but his 2022 grand final performance was reported to have cost the AFL more than $1 million, which looks like a bargain.But Rogers’ ambitions extend well beyond one international superstar.Last year, the VRC recruited Australian DJ Fisher to headline the final day of the Melbourne Cup carnival, traditionally regarded as its family day.DJ Fisher, pictured playing at LIV Golf Adelaide in 2024. APRogers admits she had one significant concern.She feared thousands of young music fans would arrive at Flemington after the final race, attend the concert and leave without experiencing the sport the VRC was trying to promote.Instead, something different happened.On a bitterly cold November day, with rain sweeping across the racecourse, approximately 65,000 people attended, according to Rogers, well above the previous benchmark of around 50,000.Crucially, she says, many arrived for the opening race.They dressed for the occasion, followed the jockeys, watched the racing and immersed themselves in the carnival.Fisher himself became part of the spectacle, cheering on a horse in a race carrying his name, celebrating with connections in the winner’s room and mingling with guests in the Birdcage before performing after the last.“He made the most of it, and we made the most of that relationship,” Rogers says.“It was a tremendous success.”For Rogers, this was evidence that entertainment could introduce a younger audience to racing without diminishing the sport itself.This year, the VRC has moved its major entertainment stage to the end of the Flemington straight, closer to the action, in an attempt to create a more integrated festival atmosphere.But the transformation of Flemington is only one part of a broader strategy.Rogers describes three priorities for the VRC.The first remains world-class racing, with the club’s 21 annual race meetings and 35,000 members forming the foundation of the business.Beyond the four days of the Melbourne Cup carnival, the VRC is identifying additional blockbuster meetings worthy of greater investment, including the Turnbull Stakes and “Super Saturday”.It has also experimented with the calendar, moving its traditional New Year’s Day meeting to New Year’s Eve, introducing twilight racing and incorporating the city’s fireworks celebrations.The second priority is what the VRC calls “Flemington Green” — an ambition to activate the enormous racecourse precinct throughout the year, rather than predominantly on race days.Major concerts and festivals featuring the likes of Calvin Harris and Kings Of Leon form part of that strategy.Calvin Harris.Getty ImagesHarris, one of the greatest DJs of all time who has residencies in party spots like Ibiza and Las Vegas, has already sold out his concert in February.“We’re fast becoming the preferred green space for these big-name festival artists,” Rogers says.The third is potentially the most transformative: a long-term master plan for the Flemington precinct.Rogers is exploring opportunities for community sporting facilities, a riding school, equine therapy programs and a pedestrian bridge connecting the racecourse to Footscray Park and Victoria University.Jamie Melham rides Half Yours to victory in the 2025 Melbourne Cup.Justin McManusThe club also owns seven hectares of freehold land behind Flemington’s railway station, opening possibilities for further development.Permanent restaurants and residential opportunities are among the ideas being considered.It is a vision that positions the VRC not simply as a racing administrator, but as an operator of one of Melbourne’s most valuable sporting and entertainment precincts.And it reflects Rogers’ conviction that the future of major sporting events lies in broadening their appeal without abandoning their identity.The horses remain the stars of Flemington. But increasingly, they are sharing the stage.And if Robbie Williams has anything to say about it, not even the Melbourne Cup can claim exclusive rights to stopping the nation.News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Friday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.From our partners