What you need to know about
New Year’s Eve 2019 in Auckland
Auckland will be the first major city in the world to welcome in 2019. With several exciting events taking place, Auckland has cemented its growing reputation as a New Year’s Eve destination.

For the first time, Vector Lights on Auckland Harbour Bridge will join the celebrations with a sparkling display from 9pm, building up to a countdown to midnight where it will pulse in time with the Auckland Sky Tower’s familiar lighting display.

At the stroke of midnight, Vector Lights will explode into a five-minute spectacular designed to complement SKYCITY’s fireworks display from the Sky Tower. Vector Lights will continue until 1am.

Family friendly music festival Wondergarden returns for the third time to Silo Park on Auckland’s waterfront, starting at 2pm, and tickets are still available. Those at Silo Park will have a perfect view of the New Year’s Eve displays on the bridge and Sky Tower.

The recently upgraded Queen Street Lights will be programmed to transition their colour scheme to complement the lighting shows on the Auckland Harbour Bridge and the Sky Tower. On New Year’s Eve they will light up Queen Street from sunset until 1am.

Full details

Vector Lights on Auckland Harbour Bridge
Start: 9pm; Finish: 1am. Leading up to midnight, there will be a 30-second countdown in sync with SKYCITY, followed by a five-minute show to complement the fireworks display on the Sky Tower.

The best views from: Little Shoal Bay, Northcote; Bayswater Marina; Mt Victoria, Devonport; Queens Parade, Devonport; Bastion Point; Auckland waterfront; Harbour View Beach Reserve, Te Atatū Peninsula; Sentinel Beach, Herne Bay; Mt Eden.

SKYCITY events
Fireworks and laser show
Start: 9pm. A Kiwiana-themed laser animation show will be beamed onto the northwest and northeast sides of the Sky Tower until the 30-second countdown to midnight. The custom designed animation content will feature native birds and plants as well as iconic patterns and designs.

A countdown clock will also display at 30-minute intervals, with a 60 second countdown before the stroke of midnight. The countdown numbers will also be displayed in Te Reo Māori.

The five-minute fireworks display will begin at midnight and will sync to a specially created Kiwiana medley on MoreFM91.8FM.

NYE Federal Street Festival – FREE
Start: 5pm; Finish: 1am. SKYCITY will host Auckland’s biggest street party. Kiwi headlining entertainment includes Jupiter Project, Jetski Safari, Annie Crummer, Ria Hall, Bella Kalolo and Lance Savali.

Federal Street will be closed to traffic from 6pm-3am.
Parking at SKYCITY will be limited to those with restaurant bookings and Premier Rewards card holders.
Great views of the Sky Tower are available from many locations across the city, but some suggestions are: Queens Parade, Devonport; Wynyard Quarter; Albert Park; Victoria Park; Victoria Street (which will be closed to traffic on the night); Mt Eden.

SKYCITY main site will be R20 from 7pm, the only exception being the hotel, Sky Tower or food and beverage guests (excluding Andy's Burger’s & Bar where R20 will apply).

Wondergarden Festival, Silo Park
Start: 2pm; Finish: early hours of 2019. A bevy of international and local superstars primed and ready to bring in the New Year with a bang. The lineup includes Nightmares On Wax, Dam-Funk, Cut Off Your Hands, JessB, and local disc jockey Tina Turntables.

Queen Street lights
From sunset New Year’s Eve to 1am. Between Customs Street, Victoria Street and Vulcan Lane, the lights will be programmed to transition their colour scheme to complement the lighting shows on the Auckland Harbour Bridge and the Sky Tower.

Queen Street is accessible to the public at all times.

ASB Classic
Day one of the women’s tennis action will be must-see in Auckland on 31 December. The twilight session runs 3-9pm, and the tournament boasts the strongest men’s and women’s field yet. Click here for the full schedule.

Getting around Auckland, on land and on water
Auckland Transport is running a reduced timetable across the New Year’s Eve period and some train lines will be replaced by buses.

There will be diversions and delays to some bus services that run through Queen Street and Victoria Street due to road closures. For more information go to:https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/events/new-years-eve-2018/
Those heading out on the water this New Year’s Eve should remember the Waitemata Harbour is a busy waterway and keep clear of the commercial port area. They need to comply with all maritime rules and be responsible skippers.
For Water Safety information: https://at.govt.nz/about-us/harbourmaster/water-safety/
Where to watch the New Year’s Eve celebrations

• Free to Air LIVE coverage will be available on TVNZ 1, 2, DUKE, OnDemand and 1 News Now.

• Sign up here for alerts and a free download of a broadcast highlights package and images of Auckland New Year’s Eve

• An audio stream from MoreFM will be synched to the Vector Lights show on the Auckland Harbour Bridge which can be accessed via vector.co.nz/lights.The live stream is also on the Vector Facebook page.

• A livestream of the Sky Tower fireworks will be shown on the SKYCITY Auckland Facebook page, starting at 11.45pm. A full five-minute video will also be uploaded to SKYCITY’s YouTube channel by 1.30am.

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