VIP ticketholder William Bush gets a tour of Mt Smart Stadium with special guide Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ahead of the Metallica concert this coming October. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Metallica teen superfan William Bush helped bring the heavy metal gods to New Zealand – and he'll be in VIP seats at the Auckland concert.
William was ecstatic to learn today that Metallica had heeded his 7000-signature petition calling for the band to add New Zealand to their tour itinerary.
But his day got even better when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was on hand to present him with tickets to the Mt Smart Stadium concert on October 31.
The Hawke's Bay superfan was lured to the stadium today on the premise an interview about his successful petition.
Instead, the Prime Minister surprised him with two tickets as reward for his hard work.
He had met the Prime Minister, got tickets to Metallica and been flown to Auckland while his brother was in English class.
Last year, in a bid to gain the attention of the metal icons, William started a petition after the American band announced their WorldWired tour earlier this year and that New Zealand was not on the list.
The petition gathered more than 6700 signatures.
The groundswell of support even caught the attention of the Prime Minister, who sent William a letter to let him known how impressed she was with all the effort he had gone to.
He said he was "sort of" surprised to received the letter.
William has been a fan as long as he can remember and has five of the band's records including their fifth and self-titled album also known as the Black Album, as well as Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Death Magnetic, and their most recent 2016, Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct.
After the special presentation of William's VIP tickets, Ardern was asked what role she had played in persuading Metallica to add a New Zealand show. "Absolutely nothing," she replied.