Crowds flock to charity concert tour

Neil Finn was among the big names to perform at Auckland's Vector arena on Monday. Photo / Raymond Sagapolutele

A charity concert tour to raise money for tsunami-ravaged Samoa has attracted crowds of thousands across the country.

The latest "I Love The Islands" concert was held in the Christchurch Town Hall last night, one night after filling Vector Arena in Auckland with more than 10,000 people to see stars including Bic Runga, Neil Finn and Don McGlashan.

The concerts have raised $250,000 already, without counting bucket donations.

Rappers Savage and Scribe, the main drivers behind the event, are from villages ravaged by last month's tsunami, and have lost family members in the tragedy.

Karoline Tamati, aka Ladi 6, who performed last night, was in Samoa when the tsunami struck. A family member had been swept away and a great grandparent's house was destroyed, she said.

But the concert was filled with positive energy, she told the Herald yesterday.

"It's such a big event, everyone's super excited for it.

"There's an extra excitement in the air knowing that you're doing something to help."

The love being shown by the New Zealand public for "our next-door neighbour, Samoa" was amazing, she said.

The tour continues tonight in Dunedin, where a last-minute sponsor has made possible a change to a larger venue.

The organisers had originally budgeted for an auditorium with a maximum standing capacity of 500.

"It's looking fantastic," organiser Pip Laufiso said of the new venue.

"Things that [usually] build over a few weeks are building over a few hours."

Last week the new venue had accommodated thousands at a community concert raising money for Samoa, she said.

Organiser Tanya Muagututi'a, in Christchurch, said the events brought people together out of love for those who had suffered.

"We have been having a good time putting it together because it's really about the love," she said.

The tsunami killed more than 180 people and caused widespread grief in Samoa.

The Red Cross has raised $1.5 million and Oxfam almost half a million for Samoa as aid efforts continue.

The lineup scheduled for the show in Christchurch included Oscar Kightley, Teuila Blakeley, Anika Moa, Adeaze and Lapi Mariner.

New Plymouth and Wellington are next after Dunedin, with shows this Sunday and Monday, respectively.

All money raised goes to the Samoa Tsunami 2009 Appeal.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Defence Force and New Zealand Red Cross are scaling down emergency relief efforts in favour of longer-term help rebuilding the islands.

The defence force has started pulling out people and equipment that are no longer needed in Samoa, and Red Cross New Zealand will bring home its last remaining aid worker this week.

The aid effort continues in the tsunami-damaged island of Niuatoputapu in Tonga.

The Red Cross and Oxfam New Zealand said the focus in Samoa was now on "building back better" villages and infrastructure - particularly water and sanitation - so that the islands would be better equipped to withstand the next natural disaster.

Many Samoan villages were re-locating to higher ground, and permanent water supplies could not be built until their final locations were known, said Oxfam's Jason Garman.

A handful of New Zealand Oxfam workers will relocate to Apia for the next one to two years to help rebuild water and sanitation services and supply seeds, tools and other help to organic farmers whose livelihoods were affected by the tsunami.

So far New Zealanders had given $1.7 million to the Samoan Red Cross and $472,000 to Oxfam, and donations were still coming, said the aid agencies. That is on top of the $6.1 million in aid for Samoa and $1.5 million for Tonga pledged by the New Zealand Government.

Altogether, more than 150 people from the Navy, Army and Air Force worked on the tsunami relief effort.

* On the road

Today, Dunedin Town Hall.

Sunday October 25, New Plymouth TSB Stadium.

Monday October 26, Wellington Michael Fowler Centre.