The singer-songwriter is the first international musician to perform at Eden Park.
Video / Supplied
Excited Billy Joel fans have begun flocking to Auckland’s Eden Park for tonight’s concert - the first time an international musician has rocked the stadium.
There is a long procession of fans walking down the Bond St bridge and through the Kingsland shops to the grounds. It’s a steady procession of fedoras, sunnies, backpacks, shorts, animal prints, sneakers, sharp boots and cheery faces.
Several of the roads around Kingsland just a few blocks from Eden Park where Joel is playing have been closed with detours in place. Witches’ hats and signs denoting a “special event” line the Kingsland strip.
Pete and Di Wright had flown up from Dunedin for the concert tonight. Both are big fans but they have never seen him live.
”I missed the opportunity to do security for him at his concert in Melbourne in 87. Too busy with work. So it’s always been on the bucket list and here we are,” Pete said.
Sunnex said she has the good fortune of her son living near Eden Park so she had easy accommodation for the gig.
When asked how long she’d been a fan of Joel she laughed and said, “You can’t ask that. He’s been around for a long time.”
Peter Todd was attending the concert with Sunnex and had travelled from Palmerston North.
He was confident the rain would stay away but had a raincoat with him in case.
Both had never seen Joel in concert before and seemed very happy about the night having finally arrived.
Leeann and Mark Phillips travelled from Wellington to see Billy Joel in concert. Photo / Tom Dillane
Writing on the wall
Ahead of the gig, Joel signed the wall of Eden Park Turf Shed. His signature joins others, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Benee, Rita Ora, and the Indian cricket team.
Billy Joel and Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner in the Eden Park Turf Shed. Photo / Supplied
No trains
Auckland’s train network will be closed this weekend, disrupting travel plans for those going to the concert at Eden Park tonight.
An Auckland Transport spokesperson said “frequent” buses would replace trains. Services from midday until the end of timetabled services are included with the concert ticket.
Special event buses will go directly to and from Eden Park, but Auckland Transport is warning they will fill up fast and warned fans to leave plenty of time for travel.
Gates opened at 5pm, and fans should aim to be seated by 7pm. MetService has forecast the odd shower for the concert.
The travel disruption for Billy Joel’s concert was unavoidable, KiwiRail's David Gordon said, as a rail shutdown had already been moved to accommodate an event earlier in November. Photo / Dean Purcell
Regular trips from the city centre begin to leave from Quay St, as well as along the Northern Busway, at 4.30pm. Services from Alexandra Park, Greenlane, started from 3.30pm. Return trips start at 10.30pm.
A park-and-ride facility will be made available in the city centre and at Alexandra Park.
Two regularly timetabled routes passing near the stadium, 64 and 22N, would have more frequent services. Route 64 will have a six-minute depart every six minutes, and 22N will have a 15-minute frequency.
A “park-and-walk” will be set up at Westfield St Lukes, almost 2km from Eden Park.
“On-street parking on roads near Eden Park is also likely to be busy,” KiwiRail’s chief operating officer capital projects, David Gordon said, “so allow extra time if you are planning to park on a nearby street and walk to the venue.”
The number of taxi stands will also be increased to four around the stadium for anyone getting to and from the concert by rideshare.
Rail shutdown ‘unavoidable’
Gordon said a full closure of the city’s network had been planned and “locked in” for rail improvement work and the laying of tracks as part of the City Rail Link (CRL) project.
“I fully appreciate the frustration Aucklanders are feeling with disruption to their train services. We’re working on major improvements to the Auckland network, to build a world-class railway for the city.”
The work needed to be completed before the longer Christmas shutdown of the network.
The travel disruption for Joel’s concert was unavoidable, Gordon said, as the shutdown had already been moved to accommodate an event earlier in November.
AT's interim chief executive Mark Lambert says buses, park-and-ride, and "park-and-walk" options will be provided for Billy Joel concertgoers while trains are disrupted by a network shutdown. Photo / Jason Oxenham
“We relooked at it but with so many other major events going on in Auckland in the lead-up to Christmas, including Christmas in the Park and the Santa Parade, it just wasn’t possible to move it again.”
Once the work was completed, along with the CRL, Aucklanders would have “more frequent, convenient and reliable” rail services, Gordon said.
AT interim chief executive Mark Lambert said buses, park-and-ride, and “park-and-walk” options will be provided for concertgoers.
“Instead of trains, we’re running a series of event buses from the city centre to Eden Park, as well as express buses from the North Shore along the Northern Busway.”
He asked people attending the concert to plan their journeys ahead of time.
“We expect the event buses to be heavily patronised with increased wait times likely.”
Billy Joel is Eden Park’s first international artist since Covid.
The singer-songwriter will this evening play his first New Zealand stadium show in 25 years.
After a break enforced by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is shaping up to be a big summer for international gigs in New Zealand.
Billy Joel is not the only world-renowned artist to play at Eden Park this month. Guns N’ Roses will play at the same venue next weekend, on Saturday, December 10.
