Blaming COVID restrictions and lack of business support Wellington concert promoter wraps up after 30 years

Blaming New Zealand Government’s COVID restrictions and lack of business support Wellington concert promoter wraps up after 30 years

Phil Sprey, Wellington's only concert promoter, has advised that he is calling a halt to his Capital C: Concerts business after 30 years, blaming the New Zealand Government’s ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and lack of support for the events and entertainment sector.

As reported by the NZ Herald, Sprey said this week’s decision by the New Zealand Government to remain in the ‘red traffic light’ setting, limiting crowd numbers in indoor venue to just 200 people, was the "final straw" and made his business no longer viable. So-called ‘red light’ restrictions have been implemented for another 10 days, meaning indoor crowds are limited to just 200 people.

Sprey, whose Capital C Concerts has worked with the likes of Elton John, Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi and Ozzy Osbourne over the last 30 years, stated "the reason is all the lack of movement from government to help the hospitality entertainment industry through a very tough period.

"And now the announcement that we're still in red, it doesn't make it very sensible to try to fight an uphill battle.

"You can't do deals with artists, you can't secure anything, you can't make the public feel confident that an event you might be arranging will actually go ahead."

Slamming New Zealand Government officials, in a post on the company’s website he noted “nobody’s giving clear, long-term answers - and on that basis you can’t do international deals.

“For domestically based promoters it’s becoming nigh on impossible at the moment because you can’t write a contract.

Sprey said he had planned to pass the business on to his son when he retired, but noted "instead of passing my business on to my eldest son, I had to make him redundant, unemployed and now can't even leave him anything more than a memory.

"Like others in the arts and entertainment industries we are considered by this government as expendable".

Operating for 30 years, Capital C: Concerts’ history also included events such as the ethnic festival Go Dutch and the Dresses for Humanity exhibition of the late Princess Diana's dresses.

The company had specialised in major stadium-sized concerts until COVID-19, but said in the past two years they had nothing, "including no help from the Labour Government".

The New Zealand Government announced last month that it was extending the Events Transition Support Payment scheme until January 2023. That scheme offers a 90% subsidy of unrecoverable costs to events with more than 5,000 people cancelled due to restrictions.

However, Sprey cannot benefit as he has not been able to book international acts due to the pandemic.

Sprey said it was also now difficult to get insurance to cover big events, and many artists were not wanting to tour.

Images: Elton John is among acts promoted by Capital C Concerts (top, credit: Chugg Entertainment) and Capital C: Concerts closure announcement from Facebook (below).