The extended lockdown is putting the already struggling events sector under more strain, sparking calls for Government-backed event insurance.
Since last week there’s been a cascade of event cancellations, with events either unable to operate at the current alert levels, or the uncertainty meaning event organisers feel they have no choice but to postpone.
Yealands Classic Fighters Airshow in Marlborough was scheduled for next weekend, after already being postponed earlier this year.
Organiser Graham Orphan says it feels like a road to nowhere.
"The fact that our timing was worked very poorly twice is just uncanny but it's just the luck of the draw," he said.
The biannual event now won’t be held until 2023.
ACT leader David Seymour says the Government needs to provide more certainty for mass events. He’s proposing Government-backed event insurance like in the UK.
"It’s not just the event organisers who lose out," Seymour said. "It’s the hundreds of workers and subcontractors involved in a major event, and often thousands of ticket holders."
He’s proposing a $50 million fund for events of more than 500 people to give event organisers a "security blanket" when planning for the future.
Already New Zealand Fashion Week, the AIMS Games, Queenstown Winter Pride festival and Wellington on a Plate have been cancelled or postponed due to the current outbreak.
Those who have upcoming events say it’s tough.
Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce’s Ali Boswijk says there’s a lot of uncertainty around future events.
"Even if it's next year, early next year, everyone has to have a contingency in place. You have to have a plan B, plan C, plan D - you really do have to think through everything," she said.
Some venues that are sitting empty during the lockdown are being put to use by health authorities instead. Nelson’s Trafalgar Centre is the largest in the region and for now is a vaccination centre.
Around 2000 people are being vaccinated a day at the centre.
Nelson District Council's Andrew White says they were happy to help when the DHB approached them last week looking for larger venues.
"We like our facilities to be really well used. Times like this are really difficult for such valuable pieces of infrastructure so it's really really pleasing to be able to provide it for this sort of purpose."
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