The ripple effect of the latest Covid-19 alert level changes is being felt by event organisers today - many are scrambling to reschedule while others have been forced to can their event all together.
An event in the 2020 Auckland Arts Festival. Photo: courtesy of Auckland Arts Festival 2020
Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland is locked down in alert level three, while the rest of the country is in alert level two after two new community cases were identified on Saturday.
The Auckland Arts Festival was gearing up to celebrate its launch on Thursday, but today the organisers were busy rescheduling as many of the 70 shows in the programme as possible.
Festival director Shona McCullagh said a move to alert level one next week would be a dream in that the festival could run as planned, but she was not holding her breath.
She believed a move to level two was more likely, and the team was planning for all scenarios.
The most recent lockdown comes following a rocky year for the arts sector.
"Often there is a lot of focus on sport and tourism in the media, but the value that the arts sector contributes to the well-being of our society is immense," McCullagh said.
Auckland Pride Festival had already grappled with the short alert level three lockdown two weeks ago.
Festival director Max Tweedie said the team had been busy rescheduling about 40 events which are postponed to later in March and April.
"We are excited for a return to alert level one so we can continue to have our communities come together, share their stories, celebrate their own and fight for progress."
Sporting events have also taken a hit.
This Saturday, more than 2300 athletes were due to converge on Queenstown for the annual Motatapu running and cycling event - but the event has been canned.
Race organiser Gemma Peskett said a huge amount of work had gone into the race over the past four months.
She was working on planning for the event on the night of the recent alert level announcement and said she burst into tears at the news.
But she said her thoughts were mostly with the athletes who had been training to take part.
Peskett said the organisers looked at postponing the event but found that logistically it would not work.
Suppliers would need to be available for a new date and the weather in the mountain alpine environment was a weighty factor in their decision.
"The more we push back later into the year, the worse the weather conditions can get. That has been a huge consideration when looking at postponement dates."
She said those who signed up could choose to move to next year's event or get a 60 percent refund.
International netball and cricket games, along with the America's Cup, have also been affected by the alert level changes.
