The Australian Grand Prix Corporation has been told by a court that it must pay $2.84 million to World Touring Music for the cancellation of Robbie Williams’ 2020 performance.

Williams was set to appear at the 2020 Australian Grand Prix, which was cancelled as the coronavirus took hold.

The event was cancelled hours before cars were due to go on track after team personnel contracted the virus, prompting McLaren to withdraw.

That prompted a chain reaction, creating confused scenes on Friday morning in Albert Park with fans locked out of the venue.

Messaging that morning from the Victoria Premier Daniel Andrew was that the event would be fan-free if it did go ahead, though its ultimate fate was not confirmed for several hours afterwards.

With the event cancellation confirmed, so too was the off-track entertainment including Williams’ performance, which was set to headline the evening following Saturday’s qualifying session.

Following the cancellation, World Touring Melbourne took the Australian Grand Prix Corporation to court citing “significant loss and damage,” seeking $8 million in reparation.

It was argued that the AGPC engaged in “misleading or deceptive conduct” in handling the cancellation with emails and text messages between Brett Sutton, Victoria’s then chief health officer, and Andrew Westacott, the CEO of the AGPC, at the heart of the complaint.

WTM said organisers had tried to claim the concert had been cancelled due to the declaration in Victoria which prohibited gatherings of more than 500 people, in addition to quarantine restrictions for international arrivals.

It was successfully argued however that such an order did not move into a state of emergency until March 16, two days after the planned concert and three days following its cancellation.

The Supreme Court of Victoria today ruled in favour of WTM, with Justice Croft deeming that the decision to cancel the Williams concert fell on the AGPC.

“The court found that this representation by AGPC was likely to mislead or deceive and that WTM relied on the representation,” Justice Croft noted.

That resulted in a $2.84 million ruling in favour of WTM.