Slash, One Love Festival, and Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli. Photo / File
Slash, One Love Festival, and Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli. Photo / File
Millions of people tuning in from around the world and a likely sold-out crowd watching the action unfold live on the grass banks of Bay Oval – Saturday's One Day International will be the biggest cricket match to come to Mount Maunganui.
And then cricket fans get to do it all over again on Monday this Auckland Anniversary Weekend.
Of course, there is also the music.
About 2500 people are expected at the inaugural Good Vibes Festival at Soper Reserve in Mount Maunganui tomorrow afternoon and American rock guitarist Slash will perform at Trustpower Baypark Arena tomorrow night.
Slash will perform at Trustpower Baypark Arena tomorrow night. Photo / Gettys
Saturday and Sunday will see up to 20,000 reggae fans descend on Tauranga Domain for the annual One Love Festival.
The back-to-back ODIs bring the rock stars of the cricketing world, India, and all of their fans, followers and devotees, to our corner of the world.
Bay Oval general manager Kelvin Jones told the Bay of Plenty Times yesterday Saturday's match was looking like a sell-out, with the Indian cricket fans expected to bring a special atmosphere to the ground.
Jones said more vendors had been brought in to the public hospitality area and there would also be more VIPs hosted in the corporate boxes and function areas.
One Love Festival. Photo / File
"We think this is the biggest game of the Bay Oval's short life."
Both matches start at 3pm, an hour later than usual to cater to the Indian market.
Gates will open an hour and a half before the first ball is bowled, and Jones recommended people get there early, to avoid getting stuck in traffic and missing any of the action.
He said the crowd for Monday's match was not looking as large at this stage, "but should be another cracker".
Bay Oval general manager Kelvin Jones. Photo / File
Tauranga promoter Pato Alvarez, organiser of the Good Vibes and One Love festivals, said preparations were going well.
At lunch-time yesterday, 100-150 tickets were left for One Love, but by 4pm they were sold out.
"Bring your good vibes, bring the good energy. This festival is all about unity and having a good time - a celebration of reggae music and also Bob Marley," Alvarez said.
He said people could organise their accreditation and pick up and top up their cashless AWOP wristbands (and tickets) for free prior to the event - today and Friday (2pm-8pm) at 107 Newton St, next to Rising Tide.
Alvarez said Good Vibes was a small project featuring new, up-and-coming, local and international talent, some of whom have never been to New Zealand. It is being headlined by Kiwi heavy-hitters Sons of Zion and Kora.
Tauranga promoter Pato Alvarez. Photo / File
Tourism Bay of Plenty's Kath Low said festivals, events, music and performing arts were key drivers of online conversations about Bay of Plenty's tourism offering.
The first half of 2018 saw a steep spike in online conversations related to events in the Bay and she is confident this year's data will show the same.
"As the sentiment of this festival and events content is generally positive, this is helping to generate positive perceptions of our tourism offering."
Low also spoke of the national and international media coverage that events like the cricket generate.
Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless also noted yesterday, "the matches draw a lot of local and international support".
"The backdrop of the Mount is spectacular and adds to the special ambience."
Accommodation New Zealand Bay of Plenty chairman Tony Bullot said all of these events, along with normal summer holiday weekend business, put pressure on Tauranga accommodation during the high season.
"Many places have been booked out for a while," he said.
"Having said that, there is always last-minute churn with various cancellations due to the inevitable last-minute emergencies ..."
Bullot said town may look full on the online third-party booking sites, but it is always worth calling motels directly.
"Many Motels will be holding units waiting for direct bookings and even if they are advertising on international sites they often have better deals available for direct bookings."
He said bookings this weekend were more diverse than a normal event weekend, with music lovers, holidaying families and sport lovers all converging on the city.
Meanwhile, Hospitality New Zealand Bay of Plenty regional manager Alan Sciascia said Tauranga and Mount Maunganui bars, cafes and restaurants would be busy and "anyone looking to dine out should pre-book to avoid missing out".
