Wellington stadium transformed ahead of Guns N’ Roses concert

Sky Stadium in Wellington is being transformed into a rock concert venue ahead of the Guns N’ Roses gig on Thursday night.

The band and more than 100 crew members touched down earlier this week in their private Boeing 777 jet for the long-awaited show.

It was postponed last year due to the Delta outbreak when the stadium ended up hosting mass vaccination events rather than international acts.

The show requires ten tonnes of audio equipment, 250 lighting fixtures, and five days to build the stage.

A big white mat has been put down over the turf at the stadium with rows of seats already in place. The stage, complete with 500sq m worth of video screens, is in place.

After the Wellington gig, the band will head to Auckland to play at Eden Park on Saturday night. The production will be packed up into 15 semi-trailers to move everything between the two cities.

A big white mat has been put down over the turf at the stadium with rows of white seats already in place. Photo / Marty Melville

Guns N’ Roses production manager William Keating flew up to Auckland yesterday to scope out the venue in advance.

He said it was great to be back travelling the world again after the pandemic.

“It’s a way of life for us, so when Covid happened and we had to sit down for two years, it was a bit of a shock to the system. So, it’s great to be back and great to be doing what we all love.”

Keating said he was expecting a “crazy” Kiwi audience for the shows.

“They remind me of the Irish a little bit ... it’s a great thing.”

MetService has forecast a mainly fine day for tomorrow’s concert in Wellington with cloud increasing in the afternoon and northerlies.

Sky Stadium chief executive Shane Harmon said there was an enormous sense of relief to have international acts back in Wellington for the first time in nearly three years.

Guns N' Roses production manager William Keating, left, with Sky Stadium chief executive Shane Harmon. Photo / Marty Melville

A crowd of about 25,000 people was expected tomorrow night, he said.

“Half of those are going to come from outside of the Wellington region so there’s going to be a really good buzz around town and it feels like we’re back to normal.”

Hotels, bars, and restaurants would also benefit from the gig which was expected to inject between $8 million and $10m into the local economy, Harmon said.

Wellington hotels have recently hit an occupancy high, thanks to a strong events schedule in recent months. The capital recorded the highest monthly accommodation occupancy rate in the country in October and the number of visitors spending nights on a short-term basis is trending upwards.

Guns N’ Roses is yet to sell out and there are tickets available for both the Auckland and Wellington shows.

Tickets are still available for both the Wellington and Auckland shows. Photo / Marty Melville