KEY POINTS:
If there is one thing that the financial fallout from David Beckham's Auckland soccer game reminds us, it's that celebrity shouldn't be confused with popularity.
Those folks in the Auckland Regional Council who thought Beckham would fill Mt Smart stadium because hey, he's really big in Asia, don't know the difference. Frequently we in the media don't either. But we do that at our own risk. More on that later.
There are a couple of simple questions that all local promoters - ones backed by their own, not public, money - ask before bringing touring acts all the way to New Zealand. Like, what have they already sold here? What are they offering paying punters to see? How much will that cost to put on? And if they have already been here was it long enough ago that people might want to go again?
No, David Beckham is not, say, Iron Maiden, who last weekend sold more tickets at comparable prices to Mt Smart Stadium than Golden Balls playing a friendly. He's sold a lot fewer T-shirts for one thing. And unlike the ancient but deathless metal band, his days at the top are numbered, if not long past.
The band and their team mascot Eddie hadn't been here for 20 years. Beckham and the LA Galaxy had already milked the soccer fans of Wellington - where they have, like, their own team - a year a two back.
How did the ARC think he would fill the place? Because he models undies and has his picture in the women's mags a lot? Oh that's right, he's big with the Asian community, apparently. After all, he was big in Japan after the World Cup in 2002 and he appeared at the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony promoting the London games - with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Obviously, Iron Maiden was busy that night.
But here's the possibly very annoying thing about the ARC's botch-job. It cost an estimated $1.79 million, which they say won't come out of rates. Gee, wonder where the Mt Smart business unit will try to recover it's foray into showbiz-sports promotion? Maybe from charging more to private promoters who actually know how to fill Mt Smart - and who will likely pass those costs to ticket buyers?
Isn't the ARC's main job to look after great chunks of local wilderness where we can wander in splendid isolation? So far as I can tell from occasional nature rambles, they do that very well. But that's not the sort of people to whom you give the job of densely populating a footy stand so fans can bathe in the alleged charisma of one of 22 players on the pitch.
Yes, confusing celebrity for popularity isn't the role of local government. That's the media's role and we ain't sharing. Nor do we apologise for it. Those of us in cushy jobs down the entertainment end of the spectrum rely heavily on the blur between them.
The paying public aren't always easy to fool. The biggest movies of New Zealand's summer were Twilight (starring no one famous) and Madagascar 2 (starring famous voices but really some cute animals). The biggest movie right now is Slumdog Millionaire, a film now starring eight guys named "Oscar".
But celebrity is cheap and easy. It also explains the existence of, oh I dunno, Kate Hudson's oeuvre.
Popularity has a price. It's what people actually buy - or illegally download. It takes time. It is quantifiable. It's not always what makes the front page.
And sometimes, just like $1.79 million being flushed down the drains of the Mt Smart changing rooms, it's gone. Just like that.
