Olivia’s ready to get physical at our party

From Summer Lovin’ to Xanadu, the gay community has always been hopelessly devoted to Olivia Newton-John.

This Saturday she will repay that admiration and loyalty by performing one of her biggest hits at the Mardi Gras party.

“I love all of my gay fans and they can expect for all of us to have a great time and dance and sing to a favourite song of mine that is a bit of the 1980s in 2008,” Newton-John told SSO this week.

“Just have a great time and laugh and sing with my friends and fans. From what I am told Mardi Gras has a huge production planned.”

A source has also revealed that the songstress may even pop into the Hilton’s Zeta bar on Friday night for a pre-parade nip. Olivia said the reasons the gay community idolises her started with her role in the musical Grease.

“I guess when you have been around as long as I have that has something to do with it,” she said. “Also, Grease was such a special part of my life and the joy of that film is that it constantly finds new fans with every generation as the years go on.”

Saturday will also see the Physical singer release the long-awaited DVD of her show at the Sydney Opera House last year with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. As well as boasting a collection of her greatest hits, Olivia takes viewers on a tour of her favourite parts of Sydney, including Manly Beach and the Harbour Bridge.

“It’s really special because it has material, old and new, from Physical to my early country hits to some really special new songs. And of course, I have to have songs from Grease and Xanadu,” she said.

“I guess in addition to the songs from Grease, my favourites are the ones by the Aussie songwriters, from Peter Allen to Steve Kipner and of course anything by my dear friend John Farrar who wrote and produced a lot of my hits.”

The vocalist has also just finished filming the TV series Sordid Lives, where she reprises her role as Bitsy Mae Harling from the 2000 movie. The series will go to air in the northern summer.

As well as performing at Mardi Gras, Newton-John is expecting to see plenty of us during the traditional recovery week – at her Gaia retreat in Byron Bay.

“Gaia means spirit of mother earth and I think the gay community would love the natural beauty and energy of the spa and the most amazing treatments. I know how the gay men and women love to pamper themselves – I do too.”

To help top off the year, she will also part take in The Great Walk to Beijing which is an epic journey to raise funds for and awareness of a positive approach to cancer care and wellness.

Volunteers will embark on a mountain trek with 40-degree gradients, winding through dust storms into the Gobi Desert along sections of the Great Wall of China, as they head to Beijing over 21 days in April.

For more information on The Great Walk to Beijing, visit www.OliviaNewton-John.com.