Partygoers ignoring economic gloom

Ticket sales for the Auckland Festival are running 50 per cent ahead of the same time in 2007.

With four days until the opening night of five live performances, several shows for the city's biennial arts and entertainment fest are selling fast, says director David Malacari.

The recession has affected private sponsorship and support from trusts, but the downturn was not turning the public into dour, stay-at-homes, he said.

As expected, the big hits for the festival are some of the entertainment shows at the Red Square party zone - the cabaret, circus and vaudeville La Clique in the Spiegeltent and comedian Tim Minchin.

As well as popular items on the entertainment agenda, several shows on the more ambitious arts agenda are attracting good interest, such as a joint French-Vietnamese dance work.