BDO fans vent at ticket price rise: 'Are they plated in gold?'

The Big Day Out will be held on January 17 at Western Springs Stadium and Park in Auckland.

At $185, Big Day Out fans face paying the highest ticket prices in the music festival's history to attend next year's revived event.

Pricing details for the January 17 Auckland festival at the new venue of Western Springs Park and Stadium were revealed yesterday, with 10,000 earlybird tickets costing $165 before being raised to $185 (with no booking fees).

That's a rise of $25 on the last Auckland Big Day Out in 2012, which cost $160 but suffered from low attendance when headliner Kanye West was pulled from the bill.

The 2011 event cost $150.

For $185, New Zealand Big Day Out promoter Campbell Smith told radio station The Rock that fans would get "the best and biggest line-up we've ever had" when it was announced in full on August 1.

"It crosses all the musical genres that you'd expect at the Big Day Out," he said.

"When you look at the headliners, the second slot, third slot and fourth slot are probably all festival headliners."

But in a poll on nzherald.co.nz, 59 per cent of respondents said tickets to next year's event cost too much, while 37 per cent said it would depend on whether or not the line-up was good enough.

Just 4 per cent said they'd go no matter what.

The price rise sparked plenty of commentary on social media, with State of Mind (@StateofMindNZ) venting on Twitter: "Practically need a mortgage to buy one".

Rob MacGregor (@rjmacgregor) said: "A ticket to #bigdayout NZ to cost $185 ... There better be some world class international acts for that."

"Clearly NOTHING was learned from the 2012 debacle," wrote one punter on Twitter.

Holly Pereira (@pseudoholly) wrote: "Tickets for Big Day Out are being increased by $20. Ugh, not cool."

J. P. L. (@yakmoose) wrote: "Big day out tickets plated in gold?"

Big nikkip (?@katchadoorian) seemed more positive, writing: "...so it's $185? woo $5 less than i expected."

Big Day Out tickets go on sale on August 12.

HOW THE BIG DAY OUT COMPARES

Laneway
What: Auckland-based one-day festival featuring Tame Impala, The Phoenix Foundation, Yeasayer and Real Estate.
Cost: $134 + BF

Rhythm & Vines
What: Gisborne-based three-day New Year's festival.
Cost: $229 + booking fee, or $369 if you're camping.

Glastonbury
What: Five-day UK-based music festival headlined this year by the Rolling Stones and Mumford and Sons.
Cost: £205 (NZ$396) + £5 BF + £5 P&P.

Coachella
What: Three-day Palm Springs-based festival headlined by Phoenix, Blur and Wu-Tang Clan.
Cost: US$349 (NZ$447).

Splendour in the Grass
What: Three-day festival based in Australia, headlined by Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean and TV on the Radio.
Cost: A$350 (NZ$408) +BF.

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- nzherald.co.nz