Organisers ready for heat as up to 25,000 expected at Bay Dreams in Nelson

Thursday, 19 December 2019

20,000 festival goers packed into Nelson's Trafalgar Park to party in the blazing sun at Bay Dreams in January. The capacity for the 2020 event has been increased to 25,000.

Festivalgoers have been promised more shade and water as the Bay Dreams festival returns to Nelson.

Temperatures soared at the inaugural event which had a sell-out crowd of 20,000 in January, with some saying there was little shade at Trafalgar Park and at times, queues of up to 40 people deep at water stations.

Bay Dreams co-promoter Toby Burrows said the festival had added a lot more water access points around the venue and added more shade 'so those two things definitely won't be an issue this time around.'

A request for the improvements had also been made by the medical team overseeing the event.

The festival returns to the top of the south for a second time, with organisers promising more shade at Trafalgar Park and increased access to water.

* Bay Dreams a reality for Nelson in 2020

* Nelson's Bay Dreams crowd hot, thirsty, and well-behaved**

Burrows said it was great to bring Bay Dreams to Nelson for the second year running and the 2020 festival would build on the success of the first event.

'Nelson is such a great host city, we are just so excited to bring it back there, it's got all the infrastructure, facilities and a good staff base. It makes it a great place to have a festival from an operational point of view.'

The festival promoters had signed an agreement with Nelson City Council to hold the event at Trafalgar Park for the next five years.

Burrows said a couple of changes had been made to the layout, including the addition of a third stage, but only minor tweaks were needed as Trafalgar Park had 'worked perfectly' as a venue.

The Bay Dreams festival in Nelson is the biggest summer music festival in the South Island. File photo.

Last year, the sold-out event had a capacity of 20,000 and this year that had been increased to 25,000.

There would be no campsite at Saxton Field. The only camping available would be at Rutherford Park on January 3 and 4, with space for around 1800 people.

Burrows said there was a 'good hype' around Bay Dreams in the South Island.

'Having two shows provides us with stronger booking power so we can get even better artists, which is why the biggest line up of the summer festival run is at Bay Dreams.'

The festival lineup includes American rapper Yelawolf and British singer Ella Mai along with headline act Tyler, the Creator, who has previously been twice banned from performing in New Zealand.

The Nelson event follows Bay Dreams in Mt Maunganui on January 2, which is now in its fifth year.

Greta Campfens, Meg Hillson, and Chloe Croll of Christchurch at the first Bay Dreams festival in Nelson.

While the event in Tauranga had sold out, there were still tickets available for the Nelson event on January 4.

The festival will span two days including a pre-party and two after-parties.

Nelson Marlborough Health emergency manager Pete Kara said alongside the request for more shade and greater access to water, St John had been contracted again to provide on-site medical services at Trafalgar Park.

'We are taking the same stance this year, with the aim of preventing the number people being transported to the emergency department at Nelson Hospital.

'We will have two air shelters set up, staffed with medical personnel from Nelson Bays Primary Health, Red Cross and Urban Search and Rescue working alongside St John staff.'

At the first event, 420 people were treated by ambulance staff, 80 people were given additional medical support by the nursing team and 100 people received first aid from Red Cross volunteers.

Between January 3 and 6, 28 people who indicated they were going to Bay Dreams presented to the emergency department or the Medical and Injury Centre in Nelson.

Of those, 11 were brought in by ambulance from either the venue, Saxton Field or town, 15 self-presented and two were brought in by police.

Nelson police Senior Sergeant Martin Tunley said while the 2019 event ran smoothly with minimal arrests, police were not being complacent around next year's festival.

Tunley said there would be similar number of staff on hand as the first event, with teams coming up from Christchurch to assist with both New Year's Eve and Bay Dreams.

He said police would be vigilant around the possession and use of methamphetamine along with other illicit drugs and there would be an emphasis on thorough screening at the venue entry.

An on-site custody unit was also being set up, so officers could deal with arrests at Trafalgar Park.