Covid 19: Bay of Plenty event organisers excited for summer free of restrictions

Bay Dreams is returning in 2023. Photo / Supplied

Bay of Plenty event organisers are feeling "confident" and looking forward to a summer free of Covid restrictions after the Government removed the traffic light framework last week.

One said it was great news to "finally" put Covid behind them, while another said it was expecting "a full house" of festivalgoers at its Rotorua concert in November.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on September 12 that the Covid-19 Protection Framework, or traffic light system, would end at 11.59pm that day. This means masks are no longer required to be worn, apart from in healthcare and aged care facilities.

Ardern said the decisions were based on health advice, with case numbers and hospitalisations the lowest they'd been since February. Vaccination levels were also high and there was increased access to anti-viral medicines.

Contacts of Covid-19 cases would no longer need to isolate and only positive individuals would need to isolate for seven days.

Diplo has been named as the headline act for Bay Dreams 2023. Photo / Supplied

Bay Dreams' organiser Mitch Lowe said the removal of Covid restrictions opened up more options to attract international talent.

"The significant change now is that artists, staff and customers who are unvaccinated can be at the events. It also gives us a bit more confidence that events will go ahead with the full framework coming to an end.

"It's great news that we can finally put Covid behind us, not just at a physical level but mental too."

Lowe said Covid had had a "massive" effect on the festival in the past two years.

"We have been unable to get many artists into the country which caused us to cancel the festival this year, as well as reshape the lineup in 2020."

Operationally, Covid had made it "very difficult" with staffing shortages, supplier interruptions, health and safety changes, and increased costs in general.

"This year we are full steam ahead without having to think about those challenges - the future feels bright."

Tour publicist Heidi Ettema said it was expecting "a full house" at the Six60 concert in Rotorua in November and it would be "one of the biggest concerts Rotorua has seen in years".

Ettema said the removal of Covid restrictions and the traffic light system gave organisers and fans "extra confidence" that the event would go ahead and could happen safely.

"As a company in an industry that has been really hit hard by the events of the last two-and-a-half years, we were thrilled with the Government's announcement. It's another step in a positive direction in our response to Covid," she said.

"Even though we could proceed under orange and under green, without any restrictions we anticipate that this means more people will feel confident buying tickets and come along for a great night of entertainment."

The Black Seeds performing at the One Love Festival in Tauranga in 2021. Photo / Andrew Warner

One Love Festival owner Glenn Meikle said he had been watching what was happening in Europe over the northern hemisphere summer, where it had been "business as normal".

Meikle said he was "very confident" about the festival going ahead now the restrictions had dropped, which was "exciting".

The festival had a capacity for 20,000 people and 17,000 tickets had been sold already.

One Love Festival was cancelled in January five days before it was scheduled to take place, due to Covid cases in the community.

"A lot of people held on to their tickets from [January], we've sold more this year, it's an exciting lineup," he said.

"It's just one of those events everyone loves and enjoys. It's always a great atmosphere."

Meikle said it would still have a "Covid plan" in case other variants popped up.

"But we hope not," he laughed.

However, for one festival, the removal of the traffic light system and Covid restrictions came too late.

Joe's Farm venue manager Sandra Stewart said it had previously decided not to have any concerts this year.

"A lot of it was due to the Covid restrictions and the uncertainty about going ahead. We found last year that it did impact on the concerts."

Asked if the announcement on September 12 had changed her mind, Stewart said many bands who it may have asked to play at Joe's Farm now had other commitments.

"At the present time, it's highly unlikely that would change for us after having made that decision.

"We certainly will be back better than ever the following season."

Stewart said it would be restructuring the farm and adding infrastructure to "make it a more appealing venue".

Rotorua's GLO festival in 2019 - the last time it was held. Photo / Stephen Parker

Rotorua Lakes Council was asked if the GLO festival - a free annual event held on New Year's Eve - was going ahead this year. It had been cancelled for the past two years due to Covid-related reasons.

A council spokeswoman said no final decision had been made yet and it was reviewing the event calendar for the summer.

A decision would be made soon, the spokeswoman said.