Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival has been cancelled due to the Omicron outbreak and the move to the red traffic light settings.
Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival has been cancelled due to the Omicron outbreak and move to the red traffic light settings. Photo: Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival
Chief executive and artistic director Tama Waipara said the postponed summer event was now cancelled, and tickets could be refunded or donated.
"A further postponement is not viable at this time. We support the government's efforts to keep our people safe and well, and will continue to plan for our usual festival later in 2022."
The festival had been due to take place from 3 February to 13 February.
Waipara hoped the Gisborne festival could go ahead with events later in the year.
Major events around the country have been called off due to the red traffic light setting, under which numbers are restricted to 100 people for vaccine pass holders, or 25 for those without a pass.
The Warbirds over Wanaka International Airshow has been cancelled for the second time in two years.
Greenstone Entertainment cancelled the rest of their events planned for this year.
The company had run a summer concert tour for 12 years, attracting crowds of about 50,000 to live outdoor music in three cities.
Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival organisers said ticket holders would be contacted directly by iTicket but the process may be slower than usual due to the high volume of event changes across the country.
The cancelled Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival events are:
- La Vie En Rose
- Hīhi - A Song of Place
- Deva Mahal
- Louis Baker
- Anna Coddington and Julia Deans
- All That Glitters is Gizzy
- Homecoming Queens
- Dragons Diva Den
- Black Sea Golden Ladder with Troy Kingi and Delaney Davidson
- The F Word with Tami Neilson
- Sunshine Soul Sessions