Festival-goers plan ahead as day two of Electric Avenue dawns

Saturday, 22 February 2025

The dawn of Electric Avenue day two has arrived and punters plan to pace themselves to make it through the day.

The music festival, which kicked off at 2pm on Friday, will see 70,000 entries across the two days, with more than two-thirds of ticket holders coming from outside the city.

The city was buzzing on Friday, with accommodation at 98% capacity and Christchurch’s bars, cafes and restaurants bursting with excited festival-goers. Uber drivers were also cashing in, with one driver having his biggest day in five years. The driver said by 5.30pm on Friday he had already earned $500 after commission.

The 10th anniversary of the music festival - the largest in Australasia - brought with it a line-up of acts too good to pass up for many seasoned partiers.

Day one at Hagley Park brought crowds of more than 35,000 dancing to the groovy tunes of Tash Sultana, the pub classics of Th’ Dudes and bass heavy rhythms of Chase & Status.

To keep up with the next day’s performances Nick Kennedy from Auckland said he would be taking it easy on the alcohol.

Kennedy, 29, had not attended Electric Avenue for a few years, but when he saw the mega line up of Chase & Status, The Prodigy and The Kooks he knew he needed to be on his A-game for the full two-day dance fest.

“The line up this year is ridiculous. You are just zig-zagging between park and main stage. Every single hour of the day that we’re here there’s something good on.”

He said less alcohol and more water was the trick to keeping up with the acts and staying safe.

While some were relying on alcohol, others planned on using MDMA (ecstasy) to keep their energy levels high, said Nick Shand, Canterbury’s regional lead for the not-for-profit drug testing station Know Your Stuff.

The testing station, which opened on Thursday and would stay open during the festival, had not found any concerning chemicals in most of the samples, Shand said early on Friday evening.

However, staff were providing a lot of education to younger festival-goers who were not well-versed in recreational drug use, he said.

“I think it’s going to be interesting seeing how they [the recreational drug users] do this year, it’s a very young crowd and all those young people are quite inexperienced in multi-day drug use.”

He urged anyone with questions or concerns to visit the Know Your Stuff tent near the front of the festival for advice and free testing.

Going easy on the booze was the plan for Tilly Alsop from Dunedin.

At 28 years old she considered herself “old” and not able to party like she used to, but as this was her first Electric Avenue she was going to give it her best shot.

“I’ve really got to pace myself, otherwise I will not make it to tomorrow.”

All dolled up in her poncho raincoat and a Red Bull energy drink in hand, she was ready for anything.

“I’m a ‘96 baby so I’m definitely looking forward to The Kooks.”

Alsop said she was a bit sad her outfit was not on full display, but she planned to wear it on Saturday if it did not get the showing it deserved.

Saturday’s weather looks to be mainly fine all day with cloud coming in the evening, according to MetService. Some easterlies were expected to arrive in the afternoon, and punters could expect highs of 22C.

Renee Palmer-Leith, 36, was having a blast with her friends, who were all donning the same colourful kit.

This weekend was her time away from her five children, who were back in Invercargill, to relive her 20s, and she was making the most of every moment, she said.

“That’s our self care. We become better parents when we get to have self care like this.”

She was hanging out for Saturday’s headliner The Prodigy and regardless of how things went on Friday she knew she would make it to the end by drinking “water and vodka”.

A police spokesperson said on Friday evening two people had been arrested, one for disorder, and one for obstruction.

What you need to know, if you’re going

Festival gates open at 1.30pm on Saturday.

There is no parking at the site, but drop-off zones are on Kilmore St (between Cranmer Square and Park Tce) and Harper Ave.

Public transport will get you close to the venue, with the number 8 bus travelling down Park Tce and the number 29 travelling down Harper Ave.

There are road closures in the area on Friday and Saturday from 7pm until midnight.