Covid deflates balloon festival
Event to be held without public interaction
Waikato’s iconic Balloons over Waikato annual festival has become a Covid casualty as organiser Classic Events confirms the event will be held without public interaction.
However, the team has been determined to still bring some ballooning joy to the Waikato, so as in 2020, the hot air balloons will still fly over the region every morning, but the traditional fly-offs from Innes Common, Balloons Visit Waipā and the visitor-favourite Nightglow are all cancelled.
Classic Events managing director Michele Connell says Hamilton would still be able to see the balloons. “Whether you are on your morning commute to work, on the way to school or still at home in your PJS, just look up and enjoy the magical sight.”
“We had planned for the traditional event like everyone knows it. Then, we adapted it to the orange [traffic light] setting, but now with Omicron, we had to adapt it again.
“We are going to be proceeding with the flying part of the festival . . . so the city will still see balloons out there . . . and we are planning for an online Nightglow.”
The plan is to film the ZURU Nightglow and release it through multiple social media channels at 8pm on Saturday, March 19.
“Many thousands will still get to enjoy . . . the magic of the balloons inflating and glowing to a choreographed soundtrack of your favorite tunes . . . from the comfort of their own home.”
Even if the traffic light settings would drop to orange in time, the festival will still be held without public gatherings as the team wouldn’t have enough time to organise a largescale event on short notice.
Connell encourages everyone to follow Balloons over Waikato on social media where Classic Events will be posting updates on the balloons and pilots and where they will be flying to. People will also still be able to book balloon rides.
She says it is a very tough time for the events industry and many events have been cancelled altogether.
“We are the first [industry] to close and the last to reopen. It is [currently] an industry of absolute crisis.
“A lot of events rely on ticket sales and it would not be financially viable to run them with 100 people. Balloons over Waikato is a free event, so we are not reliant on attendees which is why we decided to hold the event in a socially responsible way . . . and deliver some aspects of the festival at the very least.”
But with the event being free to the public means that Balloons Over Waikato doesn’t qualify for the Government’s insurance scheme.
“It means we don’t have funding support . . . I’ve written emails to the Government and I know the NZ Event Association sent a letter, but we didn’t get any response.
“Retaining my staff is my priority, but it’s hard with no income on the horizon and no income in the last month. It’s getting tight.”
Despite all, Connell keeps thinking positive. “The good times, the events, will come back and we want to make sure there is someone there to run them.”