Almost 50,000 people pack into arena for largest Australian sporting event since pandemic

More restrictions lift in Queensland as strict lockdown imposed in South Australia

Crowds cheer during game three of the State of Origin series between the Queensland Maroons and the New South Wales Blues at Suncorp Stadium (Getty Images)

A record number of people gathered in Lang Park arena in Brisbane on Wednesday to cheer on Queensland and New South Wales, marking Australia’s largest sporting event since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

49,155 people packed into the 52,000-seat stadium to watch Queensland score a 20-14 win over New South Wales in the State of Origin rugby league match.

The crowd size easily beat the 46,601 that turned out at Auckland’s Eden Park for New Zealand’s 27-2 victory over Australia in the second rugby union test of the 2020 season.

Coronavirus restrictions that allowed only 75 per cent of stadium capacity were lifted by Queensland authorities last week, allowing 100 per cent of stadium capacity to be filled in time for the match.

Queensland’s victory in the match was its first series triumph since 2017. Standout footballer Cameron Munster, who led the team to success, said on the pitch: “There’s no better footy ground than Lang Park, thank you Queensland!

“How good’s this crowd? This one’s for you guys.”

The state of Queensland, of which Brisbane is the capital, has not recorded any cases of community transmission of Covid-19 in weeks. The state’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced the removal of more coronavirus restrictions on Friday and encouraged residents to “fill Suncorp [stadium] and cheer our mighty Maroons on”.

But in South Australia, a strict “circuit-breaker” lockdown goes into effect from midnight on Wednesday for six days, in a bid to contain a coronavirus outbreak in the region.

Queensland declared the city of Adelaide a coronavirus hotspot, and has imposed mandatory hotel quarantine on anyone travelling to Queensland from Adelaide.

Four days before Australian authorities imposed the country’s first national lockdown in March, Australia hosted 86,174 fans at the Women’s T20 World Cup final between the home side and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Additional reporting by Reuters