Bay Dreams moves to Queenstown
Organisers of Queenstown's hugely-popular Mardi Gras are bringing their massive Bay Dreams festival to town.
Bay Dreams South will be held outdoors at Queenstown Event Centre on 5 January, 2024.
The festival is moving on from Nelson after a five-year stint, where it attracted a crowd between 12,000 and 20,000.
Festival director Toby Burrows says: "Nelson has been an incredible home for the festival but the vision has always been to tour the brand and with the securing of this amazing venue the timing is perfect.
"We know it’ll complement everything else the region has to offer over the holiday period."
The festival skipped 2022 due to Covid restrictions but was held in Nelson in January this year, headlined by Grammy-nominated artist Diplo, along with Sticky Fingers, Hybrid Minds, and Denzel Curry.
But its owners, Trademark Group, decided to refresh the event this year with the move south, and chose Queenstown Event Centre after they successfully held dance music one-night festival Mardi Gras there in June, seeing its potential for a larger gig.
The line-up is yet to be announced.
The council-run venue is home to the Sir John Davies oval, which boasts some of the best views from cricket ground in the world, looking out over The Remarkables.
Bay Dreams quickly rose to fame upon launching in Tauranga in 2016. By 2017, it was the largest festival in the country, bringing some of the largest acts in the world to New Zealand every summer.
It expanded to include a second date in Nelson, with the same acts playing both venues.
And Bay Dreams North is on the move too from its Baypark home. This year it will be held at Wharepai Domain.
Bay Dreams North Festival director Mitch Lowe says: "We are wanting to run a festival surrounded by trees, with beautiful natural shade and within walking distance of town with convenient transport options.
"Wharepai Domain is the natural fit for where we are going as a brand. It is aesthetically stunning, but at the same time functional, ticking all the boxes for an amazing event.
"In true Bay Dream’s style we are expanding the site beyond what any event has done before in the space and we cannot wait to see it come to life."
