If you're planning on going to see Coldplay this weekend, you might want to check your ... well, everything, at the door.
Instructions regarding what can and can't be taken into the band's Mt Smart Stadium show - and other upcoming shows at the venue - have been issued and they are lengthy to say the least.
First, stadium management has laid down a caveat reserving the right to search everything from your bags, clothes and anything else you might be carrying, right through to the car you turn up in.
Guy Berryman, Chris Martin, Will Champion and Jonny Buckland of Coldplay. Photo / Supplied
You'll also likely be subjected to a pat down and/or scanner search, and if you don't co-operate, you may not be allowed in.
As per usual at these kinds of gigs, you're not allowed video cameras or professional cameras, animals, weapons, fireworks, lasers, alcohol or illicit drugs.
But you're also not allowed backpacks or any bag larger than 30cm x 40cm, selfie sticks, umbrellas, any kind of chair, political banners or signs, "any offensive weapons" which evidently extends to include "glow sticks, balls and containers", or "studded belts or bracelets".
You can take your own food but you can't take a chilly bin to keep it in and you have to have non-metal cutlery - or none at all. Plus, your food and drinks can't be branded (ie, it should be home made). You can also only take one 1L water bottle and they will take the lid off it before you go in.
If you were planning on getting to the gig via skateboard, rollerblades, bicycle or scooter, think again because all of those things are prohibited, as are the helmets you would need to ride them safely.
And with all that said and done anything else you have that the stadium managment or promoter decides is "illegal, dangerous or a nuisance to yourself or others" will also be prohibited and "confiscated items will not be returned, replaced or reimbursed".
The restrictions are clearly for the safety of the band and everyone else at the show, but with the gates opening at 5.30pm and Coldplay not due to go on stage until 8.45pm, it could prove be a long evening for those used to carrying a few home comforts with them.
Other summer stadium shows, including Adele, Justin Bieber and Bruce Springsteen, are believed to have similar security restrictions in place.
