Relief as city prepares for return of crowds
People craving the sight of a sports game in the flesh or a ticket to see Vincent Van Gogh’s art projected on shipping containers are in luck.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an alert level shift yesterday – while the rest of the country is moving to level 1, Auckland will be moving to alert level 2 tomorrow.
With Wellington moving from alert level 2 to alert level 1, the rules around mass gatherings have eased.
This means there are no limits on the number of people at events like markets and concerts.
While Fat Freddy’s Drop have delayed their Auckland show, their performance at the Michael Fowler Centre will be to a full crowd on Thursday.
As for those wanting to see classic artwork, people who have put their names down on a waitlist to see Digital Nights Wellington: Van Gogh Alive will now have the chance to get tickets.
WellingtonNZ’s events and experiences general manager Warrick Dent told Stuff that while yesterday’s and today’s sessions would be running at a limited capacity – from tomorrow they would be following alert level 1 rules which meant up to 300 people could experience the event.
People on the waitlist would be able to purchase tickets soon and general sale would occur tomorrow morning, Dent said.
Visa Wellington on a Plate festival director Sarah Meikle was thrilled about the announcement.
‘‘It was always our intention to run the festival to support the hospitality industry in this tough year, and we’ve remained fluid in our planning, and cautiously optimistic the festival could go ahead in October,’’ Meikle said.
With level 1, there was a greater level of freedom and comfort around hosting for the Dine Wellington, Burger Wellington and Cocktail Wellington parts of the festival, she said.
Tickets were selling at the same rate as previous seasons and had drawn in domestic travellers, Meikle said.
Rugby fans were also celebrating themove to alert level 1. NZ Rugby said pre-sales for the All Blacks’ Bledisloe Cup opener would start next Tuesday and public sales two days later on October 1. Tickets were sure to be snapped up with no crowd restrictions for the All Blacks’ first test in almost a year.
Meanwhile, Sky Stadium would be the first to welcome back crowds under level 1 for Friday night’s NPC doubleheader. Wellington Pride host Manawatu¯ in the Farah Palmer Cup, followed by the Wellington Lions against Bay of Plenty in the Mitre 10 Cup.
Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford said the return to alert level 1 would be ‘‘a relief to many in the hospitality and events sectors’’.
‘‘The next goal for the country is to have Auckland down to alert level one safely and soon,’’ Milford said. Face masks were no longer mandatory under level 1 but the Government was still encouraging people to wear them and to keep using the Covid Tracer app.