Wellington’s mega concert drought is officially over, after Ed Sheeran confirmed he was returning to New Zealand next January.

The capital’s last major concert was the Foo Fighters in 2024 - and since then, global superstars like Lewis Capaldi and Lorde have skipped over Wellington when announcing their tours.

Wellington NZ chief executive Mark Oldershaw says Wellington's a big city that manages to attract events, but there's plenty of challenges involved.

"We recognise that we've got a significant stadium and another arena that holds five and a half thousand people with not a lot in between - so there are some challenges there, but there's all sorts of challenges at the moment."

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Wellington’s mega concert drought is officially over, after Ed Sheeran confirmed he was returning to New Zealand next January.
The capital’s last major concert was the Foo Fighters in 2024 - and since then, global superstars like Lewis Capaldi and Lorde have skipped over Wellington when announcing their tours.
Wellington NZ chief executive Mark Oldershaw says Wellington's a big city that manages to attract events, but there's plenty of challenges involved.
"We recognise that we've got a significant stadium and another arena that holds five and a half thousand people with not a lot in between - so there are some challenges there, but there's all sorts of challenges at the moment."
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Mark Oldershaw: Wellington NZ chief executive on Ed Sheeran breaking the region's concert drought

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/13446e80-4de5-41e7-b52d-b3230053bf65/transcript