Auckland Harbour Festival success floats possibilities

An Airforce Orion performs a low level flypast over the Anniversary Day celebrations on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour. Picture / Martin Sykes.

Auckland Harbour Festival organisers are confident the event will become a permanent fixture, to accompany the annual Auckland Regatta, as anniversary weekend visitor numbers appear to have blown original predictions out of the water.

The inaugural festival, marking Auckland's 166th anniversary, was originally expected to attract 100,000 over three days but by late Monday that figure had doubled to "much closer to 200,000", communications officer Rachel Faulkner said.

At least 50,000 daily packed the Viaduct Harbour to explore ships, watch buskers and street performers, catch the odd concert and ride the 30m, 60-tonne ferris wheel, the largest transportable ferris wheel outside Europe.

The festival played out against a backdrop of sails, as boats plied the Waitemata Harbour over anniversary weekend.

Festival co-organiser David Rose said nine months of preparation, combined with a good run of weather and the "quite friendly mindset" of visiting Aucklanders, had made the event a success.

"All around, I think, it has been a good first event. ... Now we can make it better for next year."

Final visitor tallies are expected later this week, but Mr Rose was not saying if the event had turned a profit.

Organisers also reported good takings for restaurants and bars around the Viaduct, with the Maritime Museum reportedly experiencing visitor numbers eight times above normal.

The festival reached a climax on Sunday evening, with a concert by pop band Goldenhorse and 25-year veteran rockers The Exponents, who were rumoured to be performing their final concert.

The largest fireworks display ever held in Auckland - and one of New Zealand's biggest - capped off the festivities that night.

During the 15-minute extravaganza about 200 cars stopped on the side of the Northern Motorway and harbour bridge approaches for a view across the harbour to the Viaduct, where the fireworks were launched from barges. The display finished with the detonation of the largest firework ever let off in New Zealand.

The device, known as a Star Shell, can reach heights up to 500m and realise an explosive width of 500m. It shook windows across the city.

New Zealand Herald Auckland Anniversary Regatta entries were up on last year, said regatta chairman Eric Henry, though about 60 Auckland-based yachts were still coming back from the Bay of Islands regatta held last week.

The regatta began at 9am yesterday with the "Parade of Sails". The Ngati Whatua waka accompanied a fleet of tall ships and classic yachts from the Viaduct towards Orakei Wharf.

The white-hulled, three-masted schooner Adix contrasted with the sleek silver maxi racing yacht Alfa Romeo.

Thousands with picnic baskets and sun umbrellas packed the vantage points of Bastion Pt and North Head.

Drama was added with a low flypast by an RNZAF P3 Orion and aerobatics by a veteran Hawker-Hunter fighter jet.

Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright started the regatta's first division modern yachts off on their race with the firing of a cannon on board HMNZS Te Kaha.

Mr Henry said: "We are getting back to the old days and the glory of sail.

"The city council must support the festival next year."