Auckland Festival a success!

Auckland Festival a success!

Auckland’s second festival has been an outstanding critical and artistic success.

“We are very proud of the festival and what it has achieved this year,” said festival chief executive David Malacari.

“Like any young festival there are many lessons learned and we look forward to using these when presenting festivals in the future.”

Figures from the festival, which ended yesterday, show more people attended festival produced events this year than in 2003 and box office income was higher.

Several shows sold out and others received healthy houses, said Malacari.

Although attendance numbers for some events were not as good as expected, Malacari says expectations were high to begin with.

Malacari says, contrary to some media reports the festival does not need an emergency bail out to achieve its financial targets.

“We have had contingency funding arrangements in place with Auckland City since last year because we did not expect tickets sales to cover expenses,” said Malacari.

It’s very rare for any festival to break even in it’s early years, says Malacari.

Mayor Dick Hubbard says Auckland City strongly supports the festival and the cultural and economic benefits it brings to the city.

“It makes the city a more lively and vibrant place to live and work and brings the community together”, says Mayor Hubbard.

“The Council is behind the festival one hundred per cent and we want to see it grow and prosper. We are absolutely committed to its long-term success and will continue to support it financially. We understand an event like this takes time to grow and see it as a long-term investment,” he says.

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