Katy Perry plays a stream of hit records at MCG in AFL grand final ...

Katy Perry mixed her international super-stardom with an Australian twist as she performed a spectacular show at the AFL grand final, joined by Tina Arena.  

Perry is no stranger to big crowds, performing for 70,000 fans at the Super Bowl XLIX half-time show in 2015.

But Saturday's crowd in Melbourne was even bigger, with around 100,000 spectators walking through the gates at the MCG ahead of the grand final.

The show was a retro-futuristic sci-fi blockbuster, with the production aesthetic veering between the 1990s and the 2090s. 

With a CGI helicopter announcing her arrival, Perry rolled into the stadium on a craft reminiscent of a futuristic-looking Priscilla, Queen of the Desert that drove her across the ground of the MCG.

Despite concerns from the singer during the week that singing it might have unfairly favoured the Brisbane Lions, Perry began the show with her 2013 hit Roar to a warm reception. 

Katy Perry opted for a neutral outfit, avoiding showing any Swans or Lions favouritism. (AAP: James Ross)

Perry was joined by orange-clad backup dancers for her hit Dark Horse, as she made her way to an elaborate spiral stage for her main performance. 

The US-pop star's latest album, 143, has been met with a tepid reaction, but Perry showed no signs of the bad press affecting her as she bounced around the MCG to two tracks from the album, Gorgeous and later Lifetimes.

Chrome-coloured inflatable props added to the sci-fi feel of the show. (AAP: James Ross)

The hit records kept coming, as Perry belted out the California Gurls and the title track off her 2010 album Teenage Dream, in a platinum-selling medley. 

Tina Arena and Katy Perry shared the stage for an upbeat rendition of Arena's hit, Chains. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)

Perry then transitioned to her biggest single, I Kissed A Girl, joined on stage by guitarists and a whirl of white smoke.

But the biggest surprise was for Tina Arena, who emerged from a platform beneath the stage to join Perry in song for a dance remix of her own hit, Chains.

"AFL thank you so much for having me today, may God bless you, I'm Katy Perry," she said as she headed towards a big finish with her song Firework.

There were plenty of actual fireworks to accompany the finale, as the crowd gave Perry an ovation to finish her show.

Perry has announced she will be returning to Australia in 2025 as part of her Lifetimes world tour. 

The AFL turned to a different sport to find this year's singer of the national anthem, with swimmer Cody Simpson performing Advance Australia Fair.

The former child star and Commonwealth Games athlete gave a tasteful rendition of the anthem just before the opening bounce.

ARIA award-winning artist and ABC radio presenter Christine Anu was joined by her daughter Zipporah Corser-Anu to perform Warumpi Band's My Island Home.

The song was a breakthrough for Anu when she first covered it in 1995, and she and Corser-Anu capped off the performance with a traditional chant from the north-western part of Torres Strait.

Anu told the crowd the chant "asked for peace and calm to fall across this great big land of ours".

And it wouldn't have been a proper grand final without Mike Brady performing Up There Cazaly, with retiring AFL players driven in a motorcade around the stadium for one last round of applause from the footy faithful.