Rhythm & Vines festival founder Hamish Pinkham is welcoming the government's plan to underwrite summer festivals that may face cancellations or postponements due to Covid restrictions.
He told Checkpoint he does not think the Tairāwhiti region will get to the 90 percent vaccination rate in time for the festival.
"It's going to be a huge challenge... We know there's a big meeting and announcement being made at the end of the month... We'll certainly taking all the advice and direction from government at the time."
He said the possibility the government may alter its vaccination targets for the region allowing the festival to proceed is "the only opportunity we've got".
"So the news today gave us some security... Our teams are ready to go. We're on pause, on hold and we'll be better placed to make a decision about pushing go when a clearer picture is presented."
The government announced the safety net for the sector on Tuesday, underwriting 90 percent of unrecoverable costs if events are impacted.
