Tuesday, January 17, 2012

BDO pops off

In 1997, I talked a friend of mine into going to the Big Day Out with a camera, and we filmed a documentary short on what was being touted as the last Big Day Out. Organisers were talking about how it might be the last one, they didn't know if they would be returning.

Earlier today Auckland BDO organisers announced a ticket discount for concert goers, a first for the event. This evening, another announcement - this would be the last time the BDO would come to Auckland. Sound familiar?

A wave of nostalgia for the festival in its final year would drive up ticket sales, you could cynically suggest. But of course the economics of the BDO are very different now from 1997. This really could be goodbye.

In early January, BDO organiser Ken West announced a new partnership for the event, linking up with US event promoters behind the popular festival Lollapalooza. Maybe this saved the event for Australia, but not NZ.

No comments: