Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images
Fatboy Slim at the Australian Open in 2020. The UK DJ returns to NZ this month.
Auckland’s upcoming Gardens Music Festival, headlined by international DJ Fatboy Slim, has been moved at the last minute after an event earlier this year ruined the irrigation and turf at Victoria Park.
On January 6, Plane Sailing Festival was held at Victoria Park in downtown Auckland, and its organisers are set to be slapped with a repair bill.
In a statement to Stuff, an Auckland Council spokesperson said some of the irrigation lines and turf were damaged, and a bill will be tallied up and sent to Plane Sailing organisers this week.
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Endeavour Live, who are running Gardens Music Festival on January 29, said the shift was due to damage at Victoria Park.
“Due to damage caused to the grounds by a previous event, Gardens Music Festival will now take place at its new home – the iconic Auckland Domain, and we cannot wait to see everyone there,” they wrote in a statement on Wednesday.
Plane Sailing organisers have been approached for comment.
Auckland Council said damage isn’t the only reason it wanted Gardens Music Festival over at the Domain.
“A large part of the reason we worked with the Gardens Music Festival to move the event was due to the impact on community sport, forecasted weather and potential damage moving forward which would displace sport for even longer.”
Stuff
Fatboy Slim has announced a tour of New Zealand, to take place in 2023.
Endeavour Live also announced the rest of the performers joining Fatboy Slim.
These are: US producer LP Giobbi, Australians Peking Duk and Set Mo, DJ and producer John Morales, with local support rounded from Dick Johnson and MissB.
Fatboy Slim will play eight shows across New Zealand in his first visit to the country since 2019.
After the Gardens Music Festival, he will hit Stonyridge Winery on Waiheke Island on January 31 and Auckland’s Sky Tower on February 1.
He will also perform in Christchurch, Napier, Wellington, Queenstown and Taupō.