Wearable Art awards to control ticket sales in Wellington

1.00pm

The Montana World of Wearable Art Awards will be exempt from an exclusive ticketing arrangement between the Wellington Convention Centre and Ticketek when the event moves to the capital next year.

Wellington Convention Centre operations and facilities manager Simon Hart confirmed the centre, which includes the Queens Wharf Events Centre where WOW will be held, had an "exclusive" deal with Ticketek over ticketing to the events it hosts.

He did not know of any arrangement with WOW.

WOW chief executive Gabrielle Hervey said the event has been excluded from the arrangement and will continue to sell its own tickets.

"Wellington recognised that it was important for us to be able to speak directly with the people who purchase tickets," she said.

Any remaining tickets were likely to be given to Ticketek to sell in the month leading up to the show, Ms Hervey said.

Wellington City Council chief marketing officer Derek Fry yesterday confirmed the council, WOW and Ticketek had negotiated a deal where WOW would sell tickets first.

Had the arrangement not been made, Nelson ticketing agent Greg Shaw would have had the last laugh over sales to the awards.

The Everyman Records owner, who is Ticketek's Nelson agent, pulled all support of the event last year after organisers opted to do their own ticketing.

Mr Shaw had organised music and bookings for the event for a decade and said at the time that the move was indicative of what he believed was WOW's declining interest in local sponsors.

Mr Shaw said it would have been "funny" and "ironic" if he had again been responsible for ticket sales for the event.

- NZPA