Back to light up Aussie screens before fireworks light up the sky, Zan Rowe and Charlie Pickering will be hosting the ABC’s New Year’s Eve concert on Saturday, December 31 from 8.30pm.
Mediaweek spoke to Zan Rowe ahead of the celebrations to ask what this New Year’s Eve has in store, and what people can expect from season two of Take 5 on ABC TV.
Rowe has been involved in the New Year’s Eve celebrations broadcast on ABC almost every year since ABC secured the rights to the midnight fireworks from Channel 9 in 2014. She says that the fact that “it’s one of the most fun jobs of the year” is what keeps her coming back.
“It’s just such a joy to work with Charlie and the whole team. The team that works behind the scenes has been doing it since we started – we’ve got a well oiled machine, we know what we’re doing. The lineups are always different, but the back end team is always the same.
“It’s also just one of the most beautiful places you can welcome in a new year. People all over the world want to see those fireworks, and certainly people all over Australia love to watch them on TV – or if you’re in Sydney, make their way down to the harbour. To be able to be there at the Northern Boardwalk, under the bridge, in front of the Opera House with that full sky fireworks, it’s pretty great!”
Zan Rowe and Charlie Pickering
It’s been a bumpy few years for the New Year’s team. In 2020, there was an outbreak in Sydney which saw Linda Marigliano and Jeremy Fernandez bring in 2021 from Sydney, whilst Rowe and Pickering stayed in Melbourne because of border closures. Ringing in 2022 was a little better, but with people still in the process of getting vaccinated, crowds were well reduced.
“It does feel like this year, everything’s returned to capacity way more than the previous years,” says Rowe. “We never pack it too tight there anyway, we make sure that people are comfortable – but I reckon that there will be a few more people rolling in.
“The main thing for me is not getting sick before the event. I’ll be keeping myself pretty safe and isolated in the days leading up to it, because it’s the one thing that I can’t call in sick for!”
Whilst New Year’s Eve is a joyous celebration, it comes off the back of a year that hasn’t always been quite so cheerful. Rowe is very aware of this, and about her role in “reading the tone” of the year gone by – be it in the light of pandemics, bushfires, storms, or something else entirely.
“This year has been really tough for a lot of people. I feel like we thought we were going to bounce back – and we did in some ways – but it continued to be a real challenge.
“This is your chance to just give yourself a rest, kick back and let us entertain you. I know that sounds really cheesy, but I think sometimes we feel bad about celebrating if we’ve had a tough time or if others are having a tough time. We certainly hope that we can bring a show where you just give yourself a little break to be entertained – and if you fall asleep before midnight, I’m not offended!”
The live music will kick off at 9:15pm on New Year’s Eve, with a lineup including Vika & Linda, Morgan Evans, and Dami Im. For Rowe, there are a few highlights she’s particularly looking forward to.
“Casey Donovan always blows us away. Whenever she’s belting out a tune, Charlie and I look at each other and go whoah. There’s no song that we throw at her that she can’t absolutely nail.
“I’m actually really excited about Ball Park Music, because I feel like they’re a band that if you’ve been to music festivals over the years, you would have seen them heaps of times – but if you’re a general ABC listener, you’re maybe not across them as much. They’re huge with Triple J fans, and huge at festivals, but I’m really excited about everyone else seeing them.
Ball Park Music
“Tones and I has got some really special stuff planned, as she always does with her performances. She’s one of our biggest musical export, so I’m curious to see what she whips out. Tasman Keith is one of the great MCs here in Australia, and I’m sure he’s going to really stop traffic when he gets up on stage, too.”
Looking ahead to 2023, there won’t be much time for people to catch their breath after New Year’s Eve before Sydney WorldPride kicks off in February. It’s an event that will be marked on the night, and Rowe says that “I don’t want to give anything away, but there will be rainbows!”
“Jeremy Fernandez is going to be hosting that part of the night, and there’ll be Electric Fields, Courtney Act, and Casey Donovan – who is our Queen of New Year’s – performing some amazing songs. We went through their rundown a few days ago, and I always get excited by that because I see the artists but I don’t know what songs they’re covering. The songs are huge.
“WorldPride is going to be such a huge part of next year for Sydney, but also for the ABC nationally. Partnering with WorldPride next year is going to be a massive part of what we do on the ABC, so it’s awesome to get the party started on New Year’s Eve.”
Casey Donovan
Take 5
This year, Rowe brought her long running audio segment Take 5 to Aussie screens, interviewing people like Keith Urban and Missy Higgins about the songs that have shaped them.
Take 5 with Zan Rowe
“That was a dream come true for me to launch Take 5 into TV, it’s something that I’ve wanted to do for years. The radio segment has been going since 2006, the podcast began in 2017, but to bring the heart of what it is as an audio product, we really worked hard to make that work on screen.
“Having music conversations on primetime TV is something that I’ve been championing for many years working at the ABC, and to do that with Take 5, which is one of my greatest career highlights, was huge.”
Announced at the ABC Upfront, a second season of Take 5 will be coming in 2023.
“Next year, I’m looking forward to diving in and taking everything that we’ve learned from season one, and making season two even better. With more episodes too, which will be great.”