Saxton gets nod for Bay Dreams camping
Up 3500 campers will be welcomed back to Saxton Field for the 2020 Bay Dreams festival.
The Nelson City Council last week approved the use of the football fields at Saxton for next year’s event, just ahead of the final stage of negotiations with Bay Dreams organisers for a fiveyear contract.
Part of the agreement includes prohibiting alcohol consumption at the field for the duration of the festival.
The festival, and the camping at Saxton Field, will run next year in early January, with up to 3500 campers expected. Rutherford Park will also be used for camping, with approval for up to 1500 people to use that space.
This year’s event, the first time the festival had visited Nelson, attracted 20,000 music fans.
The lineup for the 2020 event was recently announced, with the headline act being Tyler, the Creator, who was banned from New Zealand in 2014 for allegedly posing a ‘‘threat to public order . . . including incidents at past performances in which they have incited violence’’, according to Immigration New Zealand.
Event organisers and Immigration NZ have said previously that his visa has been cleared, with no issues this time around.
Other acts on the bill include Shapeshifter, Halsey and Ela Mai.
Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese said the success of the festival reflected the diversity of the city. ‘‘Not that I’m making presumptions about chamber music, but I do think Nelson is the city for all ages, the city for all tastes – Tyler the Creator, chamber music, it all comes here.’’
Earlybird tickets for the festival go on sale from today.