City marketing and concert weekend plans ramp up
Dunedin, New Zealand, Wednesday 7 March, 2018: Dunedin will soon be the proud owner of another eye-catching piece of street art, this time in the likeness of Ed
Sheeran. As part of the city marketing and public relations activities for the concert, Enterprise Dunedin has
commissioned local artist Tyler Kennedy Stent to create a lasting legacy of the pop legend, which will appear on a Bath
Street Wall over the coming week.
Enterprise Dunedin Director John Christie believes the initiative, which has been facilitated by the Dunedin Street Art
Trust, not only adds to the growing street art collection but also presents an opportunity to reinforce Dunedin’s
reputation as a creative and innovative city in the major events space.
“As a relatively small city by global standards, we are incredibly fortunate to have world class facilities such as the
Forsyth Barr Stadium for hosting major events. With each and every concert or sporting match that chooses to visit
Dunedin, there is an opportunity to reaffirm our capability and attractiveness as a host city and visitor destination.
“Projects such as the Ed Sheeran street art and significant city dressing and events programme, all demonstrate
Dunedin’s unique and immersive approach to this goal and the fact that on this occasion, we will literally Paint the
Town Ed,” he said.
Aligning with the Dunedin brand, which celebrates the distinctive and often quirky nature of the city, the Ed Sheeran
piece will also serve to further engage concert-goers and encourage them to promote Dunedin to friends and family via
shared imagery online.
To add to the atmosphere and make way for concert weekend activities and performances, the lower Octagon will be closed
to traffic from Wednesday 28 March for six days days, creating a central pedestrianised hub for all things Ed.
The partially closed Octagon will be temporarily transformed from its usual state into a vibrant, family-friendly space
filled with street furniture, surface treatments, plants, and accent lighting. In a nod to the Paint the Town Ed theme,
a large-scale snakes and ladders board will be temporarily painted on the pavers.
During the concert weekend an ‘Easter Ed Hunt’ competition will be run via DunedinNZ’s Instagram account, with
participants required to take snaps in front of a series of central city locations using the #Paintthetowned and
#DunnerStunner hashtags to be in to win. The new piece of Ed Sheeran street art will play the starring role, unless the
man himself decides to check it out whilst in the city.