Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: 204 new community cases, 46 at the border; 1200 isolating at home in Auckland region. Video / NZ Herald
Two of the country's most anticipated musical festivals won't go ahead because of the Omicron outbreak.
Festival organisers for New Plymouth's popular Womad NZ announced on Wednesday the event is now cancelled for 2022 and called the decision "heartbreaking".
"With deep sadness, we are announcing Womad NZ is no longer going ahead for 2022," the statement read.
"We all had great expectations of bringing the festival back to Taranaki after disruptions due to Covid-19 in 2021. It is heartbreaking to cancel for the second year in a row due to circumstances entirely out of our control.
"There is too much uncertainty surrounding large festivals and events, and what the growing threat of Omicron's spread in the community means. Ensuring the safety of our festival and the people of Aotearoa continues to be at the forefront of our response."
The festival is held annually at New Plymouth's Bowl of Brooklands, and this year the lineup consisted of New Zealand-based artists.
Fat Freddy's Drop, R&B star Deva Mahal, artist and author Dick Frizzell were among the artists featured on the lineup.
Justine Gilliland, Venture Taranaki Chief Executive called the cancellation "another major blow to the region".
In 2020, Womad's economic impact on the region was $6.1 million.
Ticketholders can hold on to their tickets which will be valid for 2023's event on March 17-19, or have the option of requesting a refund via the festival's ticket outlet Ticketspace.
Wellington's Homegrown has also been cancelled. Photo / Supplied
Earlier on Wednesday, Wellington's Homegrown festival confirmed it was also pulling the plug on this year's event.
It's the second time in 15 years the Homegrown hasn't been able to run- the first cancellation was in 2020 when Covid arrived in New Zealand.
Drax Project, The Beths, Kora and Gin Wigmore were among the artists set to perform.
The event, usually attended by more than 22,500, was to have been on March 19.
Homegrown managing director Andrew Tuck said it became apparent the event needed to be cancelled following information and guidance received by organisers over the past few days.
"We're devastated, we thought at the start of summer we were going to sneak through, but it feels right to call it now for everyone's safety, Also, now we can take a breath and regroup and see how we can make next year's event even better."
And today the Auckland Arts Festival announced all 51 of their live events are cancelled as Omicron continues to impact the live events industry.
However, visual arts exhibitions were still going ahead and some will stream online.
Broods, Lontalius, Imugi 이무기 + Hans, and Avantdale Bowling Club were among the musicians who were scheduled to perform as part of the festival.
The cancelled events include the play The Unruly Tourists, based on the infamous real-life tale of a family whose summer antics dominated NZ headlines in 2019. The production has been postponed and will debut at a later date.
