Big Day Out: 'NZ should never have happened'

3:23 PM Monday Jul 16, 2012

File photo / Richard Robinson

Music festival promoter Ken West has suggested the Big Day Out should never have had a New Zealand leg.

The Big Day Out line-up for 2013 was announced today with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs headlining in five cities across Australia in January and February.

Next year will be the first with no Auckland leg, after low ticket sales for this year's festival - headlined by rock act Soundgarden - led to its cancellation.

In an interview with fasterlouder.com.au, West said the Big Day Out - which was hosted in Auckland for 18 years - was too expensive to take to New Zealand and it "should never have happened".

"If you translate the A$165 ticket all inclusive, which is what we are doing, to New Zealand (dollars), which is only 80 per cent to the dollar plus GST, that is like NZ$220 (per ticket).

"And so nobody in New Zealand wants to pay $220, they only want to pay about $130. So thus therein lies my problem. And that needs a solution before we can say, 'We will go back there'.

"... As much as they (are) a nice bunch of people over there, it is a very hard job, so we have to get around that problem."

West said he had thought about hosting a mini-Big Day Out in New Zealand next year featuring around six bands, but decided it should be "fully focused on Australia - working out what is right for the event".

A Red Hot Chili Peppers sideshow has already been announced for January 14 in Auckland.

The Big Day Out ran in New Zealand from 1994 till 2012, and featured some of the biggest names in music, including Metallica, the Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine

- Herald online

juzza (New Zealand) | 08:11AM Tuesday, 17 Jul 2012

After going to 14 Big Day Outs myself I think me and alot of other punters were getting just a little tired of seeing the same acts on the bill each year. Initially the BDO was all about discovering bands as well as having current big name Alternative bands play but it seems they were prepared to rehash the same ol' same 'ol (don't get me wrong the 2011 BDO was fantastic even with the return of Rammstein and TOOL). They've just lost touch with who the BDO audience is and what they want to see. Money is not an issue when you have a great line up.

Agrozzia (Whangarei) | 08:11AM Tuesday, 17 Jul 2012

A$165, NZ$220, $130. No mention of how much profit they made coming to NZ. Does "so thus therein lies my problem" = they're not totally creaming it? They're not in it for music, friends or fans, it's for the money!

JC (New Zealand) | 08:11AM Tuesday, 17 Jul 2012

It's a bitter pill to swallow, but we're too small and poor to host festivals like this here. I think most dedicated music fans understood years ago that you need to travel to Australia if you want the pick of the best tours from around the world. For every one (festival or tour) that we're lucky enough to have cross the Tasman, there's 10 that we miss out on.