Summer festival support scheme a 'huge safety net', Hawke's Bay event organisers say

Nest Fest event organiser Harry Pettit said the government's new support package was a big help for an industry which had suffered due to Covid-19 restrictions. Photo / NZME

Festivals are a staple of the Hawke's Bay summer calendar, though ongoing crowd restrictions and uncertainty around Covid-19 have made it increasingly difficult for event planners.

A new financial support package aimed at festival organisers has many in the industry feeling "stoked" and "more positive".

Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash said organisers were having to make decisions now, but there were no insurance options should events have to be cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

He said the Government was thus stepping in as a "type of underwriter", offering to cover 90 per cent of unrecoverable costs for paid, ticketed events if they were forced to cancel or postpone.

The scheme would only apply to live, in-person events held at a single location between December 17 and April 3 next year, with conditions also including the event having already been advertised and having expected ticket sales of at least 5000.

Nash said festival experiences were part of the "cultural fabric of a Kiwi summer" and a chance to create "lasting memories".

"Big summer events are crucial for our economic and social wellbeing."

This year's Outfield, one of several summer festivals held in Hawke's Bay, drew a crowd of about 3000 people. Photo / NZME

The third Nest Fest event held at Black Barn in January this year was a sell-out, drawing more than 4000 people to the region.

Event organiser Harry Pettit, of BirdsNest Entertainment, said he hoped to draw an even bigger crowd at next year's event, aiming for closer to 5000 people which would make them eligible for the scheme, which he was "stoked" about.

"This is giving us the security we needed," he said.

"It's a huge net that we all needed and can fall back on."

Pettit said it hadn't been easy for event organisers in recent months, especially independent groups like his.

It took a lot of effort and time to organise such large events, he said.

He said things looked "more positive now" for those working behind the scenes.

There were still details to work through the Government's announcement and questions about how it would work.

"It's great there's that support now."

Napier City Council event manager Kevin Murphy said the support package provided the industry a degree of "comfort and security". Photo / NZME

Festivals and events were important to bring the community together, said Pettit, adding there hadn't been a lot of opportunity for that recently.

Napier City Council event manager Kevin Murphy said it was something industry leaders had been pushing for for some time.

"From an event industry point of view it gives a level of comfort," he said.

Murphy said there had been a "big amount of risk" for organisers in recent weeks, with many events previously postponed or cancelled and little way of recouping the costs.

Events like Art Deco and Horse of the Year, which have previously had to be cancelled due to Covid-19 crowd restrictions, would benefit from such a scheme, he said.

Art Deco Trust general manager Jeremy Smith said it was "fabulous news" for the events sector.

He said ticket sales for next year's Art Deco Festival in February had been going "very well" and he looked forward to learning in more detail what the government's announcement might mean for them.

Hawke's Bay has become an increasingly popular destination for summer festivals and headline acts in recent years.

Six60's planned performance at Napier's Mclean Park on April 2, with crowds of more than 20,000 people expected, would just fall within the scheme's date range. Photo / NZME

A current line-up of events includes Summer Solstice (on December 19), Cape Boxing Day Festival (December 26), Outfields (February 12) and Lorde playing at Black Barn in Havelock North on March 2 and Six60 playing at Napier's Mclean Park on April 2.

It was not yet clear which of these events would be eligible for the new scheme.

Six60's show was shaping up to be the biggest of those, with Murphy adding it would be the first full-sized concert ever at McLean Park and its biggest since 1984.

"In 1984 we had Split Enz, which was 6000 people, and in 2013 Stan Walker did an Easter concert in front of about 1200," Murphy said.

Preparations are still in the early stages, with travel restrictions on some of the promoter's Auckland-based staff.

Promoter Brent Eccles said tickets for Six60's gig were tracking "very well" and he predicts a turnout of about 20,000.