Tens of thousands of AFL fans flock to MCG as Grand Finals between Sydney, Brisbane kicks off

Popstar Katy Perry has received mixed reactions for her “retro-futuristic” performance during the AFL Grand Final, with some questioning the $5 million price tag.

Tens of thousands of diehard footy fans flooded into the MCG, Australia’s footy heartland, on Saturday to see the Sydney Swans take on the Brisbane Lions.

Perry was the pre-game entertainment costing the AFL $5m to perform eight songs in front of the 100,000 strong crowd packing the MCG.

“AFLW could do so much with that money and literally no-one at this AFL Grand Final would have a worse day for it,” a fan pointed out on X (formerly Twitter).

“I can’t afford bread but Katy Perry got $5m for animated arm robots coming out the ground. Wonder why society’s f … ed,” a person wrote.

Others praised the singer saying, “Once again Katy Perry showed us how spectacular she is when it comes to performing specially in front of 100k people.”

“Better than Meatloaf,” a person commented.

Some people thought the performance was a nod to Australian culture as the singer road into the MCG on a “giant goon bag.”

“Katy Perry riding a giant goon bag onto the ground on AFL Grand Final day, who says we have no culture,” a person said.

“Katy Perry standing on a goon bag is Australian as f. k,” another agreed.

“Katy Perry representing all the dads who wear the pants that unzip and turn into shorts,” a person commented on her outfit.

Some people were left disappointed by the set list saying, “Katy Perry not performing Hot n Cold at the AFL Grand Final when it was the Australian MasterChef theme song all these years.”

Thousands of spectators were soaking up the atmosphere in Australia’s footy heartland as they made their way from Melbourne’s CBD to the big stage.

The Swans last played in a grand final against Geelong in 2022 but lost to the Cats while the Lions missed out on the premiership last year to Collingwood.

It’s been 21 years since the Brisbane Lions have won a flag with the Swans last winning in 2012, the club has won a total of five grand finals and lost 12.

The last time the two sides met in a grand final was in 1899 when they were still playing in the VFL as Melbourne clubs, according to Zero Hanger.

Brisbane and Sydney were formally Fitzroy and South Melbourne, two of the oldest VFL clubs that sill exist and how represent interstate cities.

They joined the AFL in 1990, after South Melbourne initially formed in 1873 and Fitzroy in 1883.

There’s only been three times in AFL history when two interstate teams have played in a grand final which took place in over three consecutive years between 2004 and 2006.

The Brisbane Lions or Sydney Swans played in each of those games.

As part of the pregame entertainment Katy Perry brought an energetic performance to the MCG opening her set with Roar, which caused controversy during the week with people suggesting the song would give the Lions an edge in the grand final.