There was a time when the Birdcage was more about Bollinger than bass, a civilised patch of Flemington turf where socialites outnumbered stallions and the loudest sound was the pop of a cork. Not anymore.
This year, the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) has decided the genteel hum of conversation won’t do. The 2025 Melbourne Cup Carnival will arrive with volume, headlined by a lineup that swaps chatter for dance tracks and champagne flutes for glowsticks, metaphorically speaking.
And leading this sonic reinvention? Young Franco Brisbane’s prodigal beatmaker, whose music fizzes with the same sunshine that shims race-day dresses.
“The Birdcage has always been where fashion meets fun,” said a VRC spokesperson, smiling like someone who knows a few monocles might drop. “This year, we’re adding rhythm.”
When Derby Day Meets Disco Day
On Derby Day, traditionally the most buttoned-up fixture on the calendar, Franco will take over the Birdcage main stage, ushering in what the VRC calls a “trackside cultural playground.”
That playground’s soundtrack includes Bag Raiders, DJ Cyril, and Super Disco Club, each bringing their flavour of euphoria. Bag Raiders, the electronic duo whose Shooting Stars achieved internet immortality, are expected to turn the lawns into an open-air revival for the faithful who never really left 2009.
DJ Cyril promises house and disco for the rhythmically inclined. At the same time, Super Disco Club, husband-and-wife duo Andy Van and Cassie Van, will serve up what can only be described as Saturday Night Fever in bespoke millinery.
The Birdcage Reinvented – With a Pulse
For decades, the Birdcage has been less an enclosure and more an ecosystem where designers parade, celebrities preen, and journalists try (unsuccessfully) to look invisible. The VRC’s decision to electrify the atmosphere feels, well, modern.
Gone are the days when it was enough to have a marquee, a floral wall, and a Moët pyramid. Now, it’s about movement quite literally. The new main stage, unveiled on Derby Day, is tipped to resemble something between a music festival set and a luxury catwalk.
The goal? To reframe the Birdcage as less of an invitation-only lounge and more of a living, breathing expression of trackside culture.
“We’re blending tradition with tempo,” the VRC adds. “It’s about honouring the heritage of the Cup while reimagining how Australians celebrate it.”
Tradition Meets Tempo
There’s a certain irony in all this. The Birdcage, once the pinnacle of exclusivity, is now trying to be, dare one say it, inclusive. The younger crowd, long priced out of the marquess’ lawns, is suddenly welcome at the edge of the velvet rope, nodding to beats they recognise.
But that’s the brilliance of the move. It doesn’t discard tradition; it remixes it. The champagne remains, but the soundtrack is new. The heels still click, but it is time for Franco’s funk.
And if history is anything to go by, Melbourne will embrace it with the enthusiasm of a crowd cheering home a 30-to-one longshot.
Racing’s Rhythm Revival
As the 2025 Melbourne Cup Carnival gallops toward November, one thing’s clear: the Birdcage isn’t just dusting itself off, it’s dancing back into relevance. The VRC has managed to do what few institutions dare to reinvent without ridicule.
Because if there’s one thing Australians do better than anyone, it’s blend the formal with the festive. The Cup may still stop the nation, but for a moment or two this year, it might get it moving again.
By My Thanh Pham – (c) 2025
Read Time: 3 minutes
About the Writer
My Thanh Pham has worn more travel hats than most luggage racks could hold. After taking a course in travel and tourism, she found herself deep in the business of arranging itineraries across South-East Asia, matching travellers to temples, beaches, and the occasional night train, with a knack for making the complicated look easy.
Not content with life behind the desk, she joined a Vietnamese airline, juggling reservations one day and the frontline bustle of the airport the next. It gave her a ringside seat to the theatre of travel: the missed flights, the joyous reunions, and the endless stories that airports never fail to serve.
These days, My Thanh has swapped ticket stubs for a writer’s keyboard at Global Travel Media. Her words carry the same steady hand she once brought to bookings, guiding readers through the rich, unpredictable world of travel.
