AUCKLAND’S $19M SUMMER
More big acts due in Auckland, as city adds up the benefits of a performance-packed summer season
We’re currently in negotiation with several promoters and we anticipate another strong summer lineup.
New Zealanders can expect some big names to grace Auckland stages this year, after a performance-packed summer that included four artists’ concerts which injected $19.4 million into the regional economy.
Ed Sheeran, Sia, Sir Paul McCartney and the Foo Fighters concerts attracted 104,670 visitors to Auckland, contributing spending of $29.5 million.
Events overall from November to March were attended by nearly half a million people.
The events are largely paid for by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (Ateed) and run by Regional Facilities Auckland.
RFA chief executive Chris Brooks told the Weekend Herald acts like Sheeran were hard to beat, but major artists would continue to tour this coming summer.
“We’re currently in negotiation with several promoters and we anticipate another strong summer line-up.”
Touring acts plotted their global route about 12 months before major events, so planning had already begun for Auckland events, he added.
Taylor Swift is one of the big names already confirmed; her Reputation tour is at Mt Smart Stadium on November 9.
Planning for concerts included transforming a stadium “from sports to concert mode”, and lining up vehicles to carry machinery for concerts.
Brooks said it took 20 huge trucks to carry machinery needed for Sheeran’s New Zealand shows.
RFA hosted this summer’s line-up of stars at Mt Smart Stadium, including Sheeran, McCartney, the Foo Fighters and Sia as well as holding sold-out sporting events — the Rugby League World Cup semifinal and the NRL double-header.
Brooks said their stadium venues had enjoyed consecutive recordbreaking summers.
Since 2014, RFA’s summer stadium concerts had contributed $77m to regional GDP, $133m in visitor spending and 660,000 nights spent by visitors coming mainly for the event.
The three recent Sheeran performances helped Mt Smart Stadium break a New Zealand record for the highest concert attendance (134,060), surpassing its own record of 130,650 for Adele’s three concerts last March.
This March, Western Springs was transformed into a major music venue for the Auckland City Limits music festival. The international lineup included Grace Jones, Scribe and P-Money.
Brooks said RFA was continually looking to reinvest back into its stadiums and venues, as upgrades made them even more appealing to promoters and sporting organisers.
Ateed spokesman Chris Gregory said January’s ASB Classic tennis championship also contributed $1.9m to the regional economy and brought 4830 visitors to Auckland.
The organisation invests in major events on behalf of Auckland Council.
“Events in the portfolio must collectively contribute to Auckland’s economic and social aspirations — bringing new money into the region and making it a desirable place to live, visit, work, invest and study.”
Events were picked based on their contribution to economic growth, liveability, international exposure and nights spent by visitors, as well as attributes like the event time of year and event frequency.
Gregory said their major events budgets were fixed through the council’s 10-year and annual budget planning process.
A successful event held by the event’s operator could mean an organisation had more to invest in future events, Gregory said.
He added Ateed was in the process of reviewing Auckland’s Destination and Major Events strategies.
RFA chief Chris Brooks