Sixteen NRL teams are descending on the Queensland capital for eight games across one weekend of rugby league.
If it sounds like a logistical headache, that's because it is.
Now in it's fourth iteration, Magic Round is expected to attract 135,000 fans to Lang Park and inject $30 million into the Brisbane economy.
Worth the effort
Brisbane-based Australian Rugby League commissioner Kate Jones said it's worth all the effort.
"What's magic about 2023 is we're going to see 40 per cent of people come into Magic Round from overseas and interstate," she told the ABC.
"This means massive injection here locally."
Ahead of the event, 150,000 nights of accommodation have been booked out across Brisbane.
The amount of interstate and overseas bookings have risen from 27 per cent in 2019 when the rugby league festival first started, to 40 per cent in 2023.
"We want to bring as many major events to Brisbane in the lead up to the Olympics," Ms Jones added.
"It puts Brisbane on the map and it showcases what a great city, and a growing city, we are."
Lang Park has hosted every Magic Round since its inception in 2019, born from a similar concept in the Super League in Cardiff.
Keeping Magic Round in Brisbane
The Brisbane stadium currently has the contract to host the event until 2024.
Stadium manager Alan Graham wants to hold onto the fixture, indefinitely.
"It's such a great concept. It's one of the pinnacles of the rugby league calendar," he said.
"I don't think that anyone could do it better than what Brisbane and Queensland does in terms of the overall support.
"It's not just the games, it's what it creates — not only within the stadium, but around the environment as well."
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said he is proud of what the NRL has built in the magic round.
"This is a great place to play round 10, and we'll hopefully just keep on building on that," he said.
Interest from other potential hosts
Other states across the country have picked up on Magic Round's popularly, even those who don't boast a local NRL team.
"We're getting proactive inquiries from other states including [Western Australia and] South Australia to host Magic Round in their state," Ms Jones said.
She believes the popularity of the NRL's newest franchise, The Dolphins, helps Queensland's case to hold on to the annual event.
"We are so excited about welcoming The Dolphins here to showcase their talent in front of our home crowd, and we really expect that that will drive even more growth," Ms Jones said.
Although they have committed to Brisbane as the of host magic round until next year, Mr Abdo said the NRL is exploring future options.
"We'll consider carefully where the appropriate long-term location is — or it might be that it moves," he said.
Mr Graham has accommodated the Redcliffe-based club for home games at Lang Park, in addition to the stadium's original tenants, the Brisbane Broncos.
"We've hosted 16 games in eight weeks so far this season, with another eight games to come," he said.
"We've had more games in the past eight weeks than some stadiums have in a whole season.
"You could not imagine a more brutal test for the playing surface."
He said the field will no doubt show signs of wear and tear as the weekend progresses but the safety of players will be paramount.
