Mission Estate concert has future despite this year's cancellation, event director says

Neil Diamond pulled out of the Mission Estate concert and retired from touring after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Photo / File

Future Mission Estate winery concerts will go ahead, the event director says, despite this year's cancellation.

Garry Craft told Newstalk ZB the event would go ahead in future years, and discussions about who would perform in the next two years had already taken place.

This year's Mission Estate concert was cancelled this morning, 10 days after headline act Neil Diamond pulled out following his Parkinson's Disease diagnosis.

The concert was planned for March 17, but it proved impossible to find a replacement for Diamond at such short notice.

"The dates simply didn't work for any of the artists we thought would work in our unique environment and we have decided that continuing on with the concert was simply untenable," Craft said.

The 2013 Mission Estate concert. Photo / File

"Nobody wanted this event cancelled. It's a no-win situation. We were sold out and had put major investment into infrastructure for the concert, and concertgoers hadn't just bought tickets, they'd also made travel and accommodation plans."

The Mission Estate concert was also cancelled in 2015, after a headline act could not be found.