The state memorial for Olivia Newton-John is set to be broadcast on Channel Nine, airing on the same day the service is due to be held.
The event will be held at the Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on February 26, honouring the actress and musician some six months after her death last August. The memorial service will be attended by Newton-John’s family and friends, as well as dignitaries and her colleagues in music and cancer awareness.
Alongside its Channel Nine broadcast, the Newton-John memorial will be livestreamed on the Victorian Government website. The event – which runs from 4pm to 6pm AEDT – will be free to attend, but is ticketed in line with the venue’s capacity. It will also include a tribute performance by Delta Goodrem, who also suffered a battle with cancer in 2003.
In further remembrance of Newton-John, Channel Nine will air two of her films on the night prior to the memorial (February 25), including the 1978 musical Grease and 1980’s Xanadu. “Dame Olivia Newton-John was an inspiration to many around the world,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said in a statement. “Her work in cancer research and treatment saved lives and changed lives and her music was the soundtrack to a generation.”
Newton-John died at the age of 73 on August 8, following a years-long battle with cancer. Kylie Minogue, Pink, Harry Styles, Elton John, Rebel Wilson, Mariah Carey, Coldplay and Natalie Imbruglia, and ABBA were among those to pay tribute to the singer both online and onstage following her passing. At the 2022 ARIA Awards, Newton-John was honoured with a medley performance led by Imburglia and directed by Tones And I.
Days after her death, Newton-John’s 1978 smash hit ‘Hopelessly Devoted’ returned to the top five of the ARIA Charts.
