Cairns regional councillor Richie Bates claims the council is spending $300,000 to lure superstar Sir Elton John to the city later in 2017.

Cr Bates made the claim during the council’s ordinary meeting on February 20, 2017. It was also revealed that the deal was so secret, it was only referred to as “Project X”.

Only three councillors knew the technicolour crooner was bound for Cairns before his visit was announced on February 21, 2017 – Mayor Bob Manning, Deputy Mayor Terry James and cultural services committee chairwoman Cr Linda Cooper.

They were sworn to secrecy back in November 2016 by Tourism and Events Queensland, which is believed to have tipped in $600,000 to secure the shows, on top of the $300,000 each spent by the Cairns and Mackay councils. The announcement came as a shock to Cairns councillors, although the codename “Project X” raised suspicions.

“I realise it all came on very suddenly ... there had been a lot of work done behind it and a lot of discussion, but all kept confidential,” Cr Manning told the meeting. The council’s $300,000 contribution was also meant to be confidential. A slip of the tongue from Division 5 Cr Richie Bates, who was not party to the clandestine operation, blew the lid off the mystery spend.

Cr Bates was eager to welcome Elton to the Far North in September 2016, but he noted another festival requiring no council benefaction had been struggling for months to gain approval. The Grass is Greener dance music festival organisers are negotiating with the council over the use of Fogarty Park, with officials trying to shift them to Cannon Park after noise complaints.

“I think it’s 5000-7000 people ... a third of those coming from out of town. It’s not insignificant,” Cr Bates said. “We’ve spent $300,000 on Elton John and the 12,000 people that will attract,” he said. “That’s a good thing. But let’s not forget the other things that are going on, and let’s throw some weight behind those, particularly when we’re getting real value and real bang for buck out of them.”

Cr Bates later admitted the $300,000 remark was a slip of the tongue but said it was bound to come out eventually. But why Cairns? More to the point: Why Mackay? “He has a habit, I hear from talking to the agents, of not going back to the same places,” Cr Manning said. “So this tour was to involve four venues in Australia. Four of them are on the east coast.”

The Rocket Man visited Townsville in 2007 and has ticked off the major capital cities in Australia.

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