CubaDupa heads to the great indoors
Limits on security resources and concerns around public safety are the main reasons for shifting Wellington’s annual street festival CubaDupa indoors.
On Monday the Creative Capital Arts Trust, the organisers of CubaDupa, made the call to move the festival performances to indoor venues, such as the Opera House, after the Christchurch mosque shootings.
Many acts planned for this weekend’s festival are expected to go ahead, with a revised programme due out later this week, but artistic director Drew James warned that some street performances would be cancelled.
‘‘Ninety-nine per cent of the music acts including the international acts will be on,’’ he said, ‘‘[but] a number of the street acts and parades we’re unable to go ahead with.’’
Finer details for all of the music programmes were still being nailed down, but James said the Swan Stage programme would be shifted to the Opera House, while the Upper Cuba Stage programme would transfer to San Fran on Cuba St.
More details and venues would be confirmed tomorrow, although James said restaurants and shops along Cuba St would still be open with their planned CubaDupa offerings.
‘‘CubaDupa is multi-layered from that point of view. Although we won’t close the streets, the footpaths will be open.’’
James said the festival team decided not to cancel the event outright because of the number of artists and audiences invested in the festival and instead, went to key stakeholders with a proposal to move it indoors.
A spokeswoman for the festival said CubaDupa was a complex event and embedding security in an effective way was simply not possible in the time available. By moving into venues, the organisers could put screening and controls in place.
Wreda general manager Warrick Dent said in light of the events in Christchurch and New Zealand’s current high terrorism risk, the organisation worked with CubaDupa to assess the risk of holding the event.
‘‘It was apparent that securing the large outdoor site at short notice would not be feasible,’’ he said.
‘‘We are fully supportive of the decision not to proceed with the large-scale outdoor festival for 2019, and to instead offer the indoor programme.’’
Police and Wellington City Council also supported CubaDupa’s decision to move the festival indoors.
A police spokesperson said police had not been required to provide any advice on whether the festival should proceed, nor were they aware of any threat towards the festival.
Officers would ensure ‘‘appropriate support’’ was in place and people were asked to stay vigilant.