Editorial: Sting blows booze ban out of water

For those that are concerned about such things, the BYO liquor ban at the 2011 Mission concert has had much of the sting taken out of it by, well, Sting.
Taking a chillybin brimming with wine and food to the Mission Concert has been part and parcel of the annual summer music extravaganza for 18 years.
Police, however, did warn this year that Mission patrons were on a knife-edge when it came to the privilege of being able to cart in their own booze to the concert.
Why? Well, 25,000 people at a music and booze free-for-all under the Hawke's Bay sun is great fun unless you happen to be the enforcement agency charged with ensuring as many people as possible make it home unscathed.
We must conclude police have seen too many people rolling comatose down the hill or going bottoms-up over the front-row seats in the last couple of years.
But the BYO booze ban was yesterday's news. Today we have the announcement that the headline act for 2011 is none other than Sting, accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra.
We predict a sell-out, for this is an out-and-out coup for the Mission Concert.
This year's Motown show was better than many expected but did leave some asking "has the Mission jumped the shark?"
Signing up Sting bats that question away in no uncertain terms. Everyone knows or loves a Police song - and Sting is one lead singer who has aged with real rock star cred.
Right demographic - and without the pacemaker.
He's a star most concert-goers will consider well worth the inconvenience of having to queue for their bottle of wine.
For the Mission, securing Sting is like hitting a home run out of the park. Roll on February.