New Zealand Government delivers certainty and support for large-scale events
The New Zealand Events Transition Support Payment scheme (ETSP), will be extended to 31 January 2023 and expanded to include business events.
“The original scheme was introduced in November 2021 to give event organisers financial certainty to host large scale events over summer. It meant thousands of New Zealanders were able to enjoy large concerts and festivals,” Stuart Nash said.
“The scheme effectively saw the government underwrite costs so that organisers of an eligible event could claim 90 per cent of unrecoverable costs if it couldn’t go ahead due to public health measures.
“However the current Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the Red setting in the Protection Framework are having a severe impact on the events sector. We have adapted the scheme to take account of this to further support the industry for the rest of the year.
“Extending the ETSP to 31 January 2023 and opening it up to eligible business events of at least 200 attendees will give much needed certainty to the industry.
“Business events are an important part of the sector and attract high spending visitors to the regions and main centres. Business events are also a key source of revenue for convention centres and other venues that are not typically used for large-scale events.
“A new eligibility criterion will also be introduced, allowing events to cancel or postpone if the lead artist or subject has to self-isolate.
“We know that under the current CPF Red setting, large events cannot proceed. This is disappointing for event organisers, artists, and everyone associated with a large-scale event, including attendees.
“These changes will provide confidence to hundreds of events throughout 2022 and into next summer so organisers can continue to organise events despite the ongoing uncertainty that COVID-19 brings to our communities,” Stuart Nash said.
The changes take effect on 4 April 2022.
For more information visit the Events Transition Support Payment scheme page on the MBIE website.
For more information on support for smaller events and artists, visit the Arts and Culture COVID Recovery Programme page on the Ministry of Culture and Heritage website.
HON STUART NASH
Economic and Regional Development