About 10,000 people — including 6000 campers — are expected to be in the Cardrona Valley for the 10th Rhythm and Alps festival, which is scheduled to run from December 29 to 31.
Festival director Alex Turnbull said more than 40% of attendees were expected to come from outside the region.
Vaccine passports were compulsory and Mr Turnbull said ticketing partner Ticket Fairy had a platform which allowed each ticket-holder to upload their vaccine pass, which then marked their ticket as valid for entry.
‘‘We are confident this is a secure and simple way to apply vaccine passports to festivals and clear instructions will be sent to all customers within the next few days, with ongoing reminders throughout December.’’
The Southern District Health Board and other authorities had been consulted and were confident about the system, he said.
Festival organisers had built a new entrance bridge over the Cardrona River and appointed Covid-19 ambassadors and extra staff to help with site access.
The full line-up and schedule would be announced this Friday.
Rhythm and Alps’ sister event Rhythm and Vines, held near Gisborne, has been postponed until Easter, making the southern festival one of the largest — if not the largest — New Year’s Eve events in New Zealand.
