Napier becomes hip-hop capital as Nelly and stars prepare for festival

Nelly is set to perform in front of a big crowd in Napier on Thursday. Photo / Instagram

If you want to go and take a ride with Nelly, you may never get a better chance.

The American rapper, along with a host of other big-name hip-hop and R&B stars, are set to arrive in Napier ahead of Juicy Fest on Thursday.

Ne-yo, Ja Rule, Bow Wow, Xzibit, Chingy, Pretty Ricky, Mya, Lloyd and Twista are all coming to town and will light up the stage at Park Island for what shapes as one of the region’s biggest music events of the year.

Juicy Fest is visiting nine venues across New Zealand and Australia throughout January - with Napier selected for the very first show.

Set-up underway for the big show on Thursday at Napier's Park Island. Photo / Warren Buckland

Juicy Fest promoter Glenn Meikle said they were expecting between 9000 and 10,000 for the Napier show.

“We’re excited about launching the Juicy Fest tour in Napier,” he said.

“Napier was selected for the tour because of what the place and the people have to offer [and] we wanted to bring this tour to centres that often get missed out of festival-type of shows.”

The artists are arriving in Hawke’s Bay at different times this week and Meikle said “they’re keen to see as much of the area as they can”.

Chingy is among the stars performing at Juicy Fest. Photo / Supplied

He said for most of them it will be their first time to Hawke’s Bay.

The stage and facilities at Tremain Field in Park Island are currently being set up and the show will run from 1pm to 10pm on Thursday.

Tickets are still available and cost $209 for general admission, which can be purchased through the festival website.

“Napier is a stunning place, with so much to offer and we want to be able to showcase this city as widely as possible,” he said.

“These artists have tens of millions of followers from around the world on social media so the potential is there.”

A reduced 30km/h speed restriction will be in place around the festival on Thursday and Clyde Jeffery Drive, Westminster Ave and Prebensen Drive will be closed from 9pm to 11pm that night, as festivalgoers head home.

The next stop for Juicy Fest will be Tauranga on Friday.