The Auckland leg of the Big Day Out has been going for 18 years and organiser Ken West says it has been incredible, but now it must come to an end.
West says the compounded stress of the day in Auckland on a Friday and then on the Gold Coast on a Sunday has taken its toll.
Big Day Out cancelled in New Zealand, as of next year
“In terms of what has been put on the line every year for Auckland, flying everything through, it has felt the risk of taking it on next year would be too great,” he says.
For music fans this end of an era is surreal. The Big Day Out has been an integral component of the New Zealand festival scene, but West says getting past the inaugural Big Day Out was odd.
“I had never dreamt this event would go for 20 years,” he says. “I’m happy I don’t have to think about it [the decision to cancel the Auckland Big Day Out] anymore, because I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.”
“I have found over that time I wouldn’t have swapped any part of it.
“I love New Zealand audiences, and I mean that, it’s not a spin, otherwise I wouldn’t have kept doing it.”
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