{"id":897936,"date":"2026-09-19T16:44:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T16:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/897936\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T16:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T16:44:20","slug":"john-farnham-to-skip-the-songs-of-john-farnham-a-living-legend-the-celebration-concert-as-health-has-deteriorated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/897936\/","title":{"rendered":"John Farnham to skip The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend \u2014 The Celebration\u00a0Concert as \u2018health has deteriorated\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A tribute concert event at Melbourne\u2019s Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night dedicated to John Farnham<\/a> will be without its main man in the crowd.<\/p>\n

The music icon\u2019s family issued a statement on Saturday night confirming he won\u2019t be able to attend The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend \u2014 The Celebration\u00a0Concert<\/a>, saying his \u201chealth has deteriorated in recent months\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

John Farnham\u2019s family say his health has deteriorated too much to attend the concert in his honour on Sunday. (Pictured in June 2015)\u00a0Justin McManus\/The Age<\/p>\n

In a long statement, issued by wife Jill and the couple\u2019s sons Robert and James, Farnham\u2019s family said they wanted to be transparent about the singer\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn has been deeply moved by everything happening this weekend around the tribute concert at Rod Laver Arena,\u201d they began.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people have been asking whether John will be involved in the concert or attending tomorrow night to watch it all happen. Unfortunately, he will not be able to attend and, as a family, we feel it is important to provide an update on John\u2019s health to help explain why.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn\u2019s health has deteriorated in recent months. He now requires continuous oxygen support and uses a wheelchair for mobility. It has also become necessary for John to receive 24-hour nursing care at home, ensuring trained support is always available when he needs it.\u201c<\/p>\n

\"John<\/p>\n

The most recent photos of him, released by the family, were to mark his 77th birthday in July.\u00a0Instagram\/@jimbofarnham<\/p>\n

The family said as they\u2019ve \u201cadjusted to John\u2019s changing needs\u201d, they\u2019ve kept the matter of his health private. But ahead of the concert event, they wanted \u201cfans and supporters understand his circumstances and why he cannot be there this weekend\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf things were different, John would have loved nothing more than to attend the concert,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe would undoubtedly have been a little overwhelmed by all the fuss, but he would also have wanted to thank everyone involved in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a family, we have decided that it is best for John to remain at home, where he can be safe and comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John<\/p>\n

Farnham (pictured here in 2020) was never met to perform on stage during Sunday\u2019s concert, so there are no changes to the line-up.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

The Australian music legend is rarely seen publicly since his 2022 oral cancer diagnosis and subsequent health battle. The most recent photos of him, released by the family, were to mark his 77th birthday in July.<\/p>\n

Farnham was never meant to perform on stage during Sunday\u2019s concert, so there are no changes to the line-up, which includes some of Australian music\u2019s biggest names.<\/p>\n

Set to take to the stage includes: Tina Arena, Jimmy Barnes, Mahalia Barnes, Kate Ceberano, Diesel, Hans, Human Nature, Jack Jones, Richard Marx, Jessica Mauboy, Ruby Rodgers, Jon Stevens, Mitch Tambo, Keith Urban, Mark Vincent and Ross Wilson.<\/p>\n

\"Tina<\/p>\n

Tina Arena (pictured) is among the long list of Australian music\u2019s biggest names performing at Rod Laver Arena. \u00a0Dylan Burns\/AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Celine Dion and Hugh Jackman are also set to perform via satellite during the living tribute, which is raising money for Head and Neck Cancer Australia.<\/p>\n

Adding a nostalgic element to the evening, Farnham\u2019s longtime musical director Chong Lim will lead the John Farnham Band, alongside a 38-piece orchestra and choir.<\/p>\n

Statement in Full<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn has been deeply moved by everything happening this weekend around the tribute concert at Rod Laver Arena.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe extraordinary work of the producers over these past few months, the generosity of all the artists giving their time, and the dedication of the crew and production teams working so hard to deliver this special concert \u2014 none of it is taken for granted by John or any of us, as a family. On John\u2019s behalf, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people have been asking whether John will be involved in the concert or attending tomorrow night to watch it all happen. Unfortunately, he will not be able to attend and, as a family, we feel it is important to provide an update on John\u2019s health to help explain why.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn\u2019s health has deteriorated in recent months. He now requires continuous oxygen support and uses a wheelchair for mobility. It has also become necessary for John to receive 24-hour nursing care at home, ensuring trained support is always available when he needs it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have kept these matters private while our family has adjusted to John\u2019s changing needs. However, we now feel it is important that John\u2019s fans and supporters understand his circumstances and why he cannot be there this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf things were different, John would have loved nothing more than to attend the concert. He would undoubtedly have been a little overwhelmed by all the fuss, but he would also have wanted to thank everyone involved in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a family, we have decided that it is best for John to remain at home, where he can be safe and comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your understanding and for the many messages of love and support John continues to receive.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to everyone involved in this weekend\u2019s celebration concert: chookas!<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch love, Jill, Robert and James Farnham.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tribute concert event at Melbourne\u2019s Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night dedicated to John Farnham will be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":897937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-897936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}