The Holi Festival of Colours Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell
The Holi Festival of Colours Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell
Wellington's Holi festival has been cancelled this year because organisers were unable to import the special coloured powders used for the event, but celebrations are still going ahead in Auckland and Christchurch.
Nevertheless, Wellington City Council has still pitched the heart of the city as pumping this Valentine's weekend withplenty of other events on, including Six60 playing at Sky Stadium.
The Holi festival was also scheduled, but Wellington festival organiser Ashwyn Sathanantham said they made the decision to cancel after a "logistical nightmare".
He said they faced problems importing the colours from India due to Covid-19.
"Right now the problem is we're not getting a good price, at the same time there's a lot of shipping delays around the world so we can't really guarantee that it's going to arrive on time."
Special paint powder used for the festival could not be imported in time for the Wellington event. Photo / Dean Purcell
Sathanantham said the risk of cancellation was also costly.
He said they tried to use local suppliers and approached other organisers with festivals going ahead in different parts of the country, but they couldn't spare their colours.
"There's going to be a lot of disappointed people and we really hope to bring together something really good for next year to compensate for this year."
Sathanantham said the outdoor event could not be postponed until later on in the year as the weather would be too cold.
Christchurch Holi festival co-founder Hitesh Sharma said fortunately they had ample stock because they purchased enough colours to last a couple of years.
"You have to think ahead, especially with the product coming from overseas."
Sharma was aware of current difficulties securing the coloured powder from overseas and had observed higher prices due to freight charges.
He said they felt very lucky to be able to hold the event this year.
"We feel absolutely thrilled and we feel fortunate that we're able to do it even after a lot of disruption that has gone around the world."
Auckland's festival will also go ahead this Sunday thanks to their colour reserves.
Although Wellington won't be painted in the different colours of the rainbow this weekend, the capital is still hosting plenty of other events.
Six60 frontman Matiu Walters - who hails from Northland - performing at Waitangi earlier this year. Photo / Supplied
Six60 will play at Sky Stadium this weekend.
Stadium chief executive Shane Harmon said he was excited about the event after a quiet summer due to Covid-19.
A crowd of more than 30,000 is expected on the evening.
"We've got a lot of people coming in from all around New Zealand. This is just but one of six shows so it just shows how popular Six60 have been and I've seen in some overseas media they're probably the biggest touring artist in the world at the moment."
Tickets are still available and the weather forecast looked good for Saturday, Harmon said.
The Wellington Wine and Food Festival will also go ahead on Saturday at Waitangi Park.
The festival brings together the best of local cuisines, matched with local wineries and breweries. There will also be live music.
Other events include the cricket T20 final at the Basin Reserve, Chinese New Year Fireworks and a parade, as well as Valentine's evening events at the Zoo and Zealandia.
Meanwhile, thousands of new university students will be hitting the streets for Orientation Week.
Wellington City Council has advised several roads around the city will be closed and has asked people to consider taking public transport, cycling or walking to events.
