Wellington's Newtown festival cancelled, too hard to check vaccine passes

There are usually multiple stage performances at Wellington's Newtown Festival. Photo / Vanessa Rushton

Wellington's Newtown Festival will not go ahead next year because the organisers say it's logistically impossible to check vaccine certificates in a public street with multiple access points.

Thousands of people usually attend what's known as one of Wellington's biggest and most diverse street festivals.

But in an update posted on the festival's website, organisers said the decision had been made to not go ahead with the event next year after a lot of planning and consulting.

"This has not been an easy decision for us, but the safety and wellbeing of everyone is our first priority in these Covid times."

Festivals can go ahead without number limits under the new Covid-19 traffic light system at the orange level if all participants and attendees have vaccine passes.

But organisers said this wouldn't work for a big event in a public street with multiple entrance points.

"It is logistically impossible to check vaccination certificates for thousands of stallholders, performers, crew and volunteers for a public event with multiple entry points, and we can't stop people walking through the festival site to access essential services as well as their own homes.

"We have been blessed with 25 years of awesome Newtown Festivals, and we're planning to keep the spirit of Newtown Festival alive during 2022 as we focus on bringing you a spectacular event in 2023."

This year's festival included 450 stalls, a third of them food stalls. Photo / File

Southern Ward councillor Fleur Fitzsimons said it was disappointing, but a responsible decision.

"The Newtown Festival is very important to the community in Newtown, but also to residents throughout Wellington. It's often the first start that musicians get and the organisers put a huge amount of work in over many months to confirm acts and organise hundreds of stalls across the street."

Fitzsimons said the decision was part of the new reality events were facing in managing a global pandemic.