Raggamuffin turnout disappoints

Organisers of the Raggamuffin Festival may consider another location to host future events. Photo/Stephen Parker

Organisers are having doubts about Raggamuffin's future after a poor turnout.

The two-day reggae festival, held at the Rotorua International Stadium over the weekend, hosted 6000 people on Friday's event and about 13,000 on Saturday.

Festival director Jackie Sanders said crowd numbers were 30 per cent down from last year, which was really disappointing.

"It was obvious to anyone who went in previous years," she said. "It's such a shame and it's pretty saddening for us."

Ms Sanders said organisers would have serious talks about the festival's future as well as its place in Rotorua. "We need to figure out whether it's going to be economically viable to keep it in Rotorua."

The city has the rights to hold the festival for another year but that could change, Ms Sanders said.

"It's too early to tell what will happen. We need to figure out what's economically viable and make changes from there."

Ms Sanders said she would love to see the event continue to be hosted by the city, despite Auckland being a cheaper option. It has been held in Rotorua since 2008.

"Rotorua's such a great place and the artists love coming here and experiencing its culture."

While Ms Sanders said she did not know the exact reason for the low turnout, she believed the competitive events market might have something to do with it.

She said there had been a huge increase in the number of large events held around the country, which meant people were choosing to go to one event over the other. The introduction of the NRL Auckland Nines was an example, she said.

"The Wellington Sevens has always sold out in a matter of minutes, but this year, with the Auckland Nines, there's still tickets."

Ms Sanders said the turnout was not in any way a reflection of the efforts of the Rotorua Events and Venues team, who had been supportive and helpful.

She admitted she had mixed feelings about the festival, being both disappointed with the turnout and pleased with the artists' performances.

"Everything else [except from low crowd numbers] was fantastic. The bands were amazing and the feedback we received throughout the festival was absolutely overwhelming.

"Everyone who was there and involved in the festival loved it."

Police were pleased with how the event went. There were only a small number of incidents reported over both days.

Rotorua Police senior sergeant Malcolm Collins said there were some cases of disorderly behaviour after Saturday night's show but he was unable to give exact figures about how many arrests were made.