JUST OVER 78,000 SPECTATORS packed a Melbourne stadium today for an Australian Rules football match, in what is believed to be the biggest crowd at a sporting fixture since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
However, the crowd size at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) fell short of expectations that 85,000 could attend the traditional Anzac Day match between the Collingwood Magpies and Essendon Bombers.
The MCG can seat 100,000 people and the Australian Football League (AFL) had hoped health authorities would allow the match to be played in front of a capacity stadium.
However, officials ordered ticket sales to be capped at 85% of capacity, up from a previous limit of 75%. A spokeswoman for the MCG said 78,311 people attended.
One commentator for Channel 7, which broadcast the match, said “we think that’s a world record crowd for any sporting event since the pandemic hit”.
78,113 here today - a world record sports attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic.
— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) April 25, 2021
Fortunate in these times to play in front of a crowd this size ❤️#AFLPiesDons pic.twitter.com/8rm24o5e2v
Australia and neighbouring New Zealand have been home to some of the largest sporting crowds since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to the sports-mad nations largely containing the spread of Covid-19.
Last November, the State of Origin rugby league finale between Queensland and New South Wales took place in front of 49,000 fans in Brisbane. A month earlier, 46,000 people saw hosts New Zealand beat Australia in a rugby union fixture in Dunedin.
AFL matches during the first five rounds of this year’s season have averaged 28,233 attendees, including almost 55,000 last weekend who watched the West Coast Eagles triumph over Collingwood.
The Magpies were again defeated today, losing to the Bombers by 24 points.
