The story of this place
In March 1877, on this very ground, cricket changed forever: Australia defeated England in the first-ever Test match, beginning a rivalry that would become the legendary Ashes. But the MCG had already been hosting cricket since 1853, making it one of the world's oldest sporting venues. The stadium's defining moment came during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics when 104,000 people packed the stands—the largest crowd ever for a cricket ground at the time.
On February 15, 2023, Taylor Swift performed to 96,000 fans, making it the biggest concert in Australian history. The ground has witnessed it all: the first One Day International in 1971, four AFL Grand Finals per year drawing 100,000 each, and Billy Graham's 1959 crusade that attracted 143,000 people—the largest crowd ever assembled in Australian history. The MCG remains the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere with a capacity of 100,024.