Raggamuffin: Hopes for crowd of 20,000

RAGGAMUFFIN READY: Thousands of reggae fans will be attending the Raggamuffin Festival at Rotorua's International Stadium this weekend. FILE 240110AW15

Thousands of reggae fans will be heading to Rotorua's International Stadium today for the first day of the Raggamuffin Festival.

The annual music festival, which runs today and tomorrow, will feature a line-up of international, national and local artists including reggae stars Damian Marley, Shaggy, Morgan Heritage and Rotorua's Strangely Arousing.

More than 100 artists will perform at the event and festival director Jackie Sanders said she hoped to see about 20,000 people turn out over the two days.

She said people were travelling to the concert from as far away as Hawaii, with a number of people coming from Australia and all across New Zealand.

"It's amazing to see people travelling so far just to come to the event. It's become an international festival and it's something pretty special," she said.

This year the festival featured a different layout that was more compact than previous years, Ms Sanders said.

"We've taken away a lot of the dead space and now people don't have to walk as far to use the facilities, buy food or get close to the stage.

'It's all so much easier this year."

Food and craft stalls will be set up at the event, with face painting and volleyball among the other entertainment on offer.

The festival will also feature a kava lounge, which will give concert-goers a taste of island culture in a relaxed atmosphere.

Ms Sanders said the event featured something "very special" with New Zealand musician Tiki Taane deciding to launch his new album at the event. Called With Strings Attached , it will be launched tonight and festival-goers will be the first to get their hands on a copy of it.

Ms Sanders encouraged people who have never been to the event to attend.

"It's really unique, I'm positive that if people go along and see how awesome the atmosphere is, they'll love it.

"It's got something for everyone."

She said the atmosphere at the event was unlike any other music festival she had ever been to.

"Raggamuffin really is one of a kind."

For more information, visit www.raggamuffin.co.nz. Last minute tickets are available from Ticketmaster or at the gate.