The organisers of a major summer music festival face an anxious wait with the red light threat of Omicron hanging over the event.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday that if there is a community outbreak of Omicron, the whole country will move to alert level red, putting an end to big crowds and leaving the entertainment industry crossing their fingers.
In just over 24 hours, some of the biggest names in Kiwi music will take the stage at Western Springs, including the Kiwi reggae band L.A.B.
It's the same period of time that it would take the Government to switch the traffic light to red if Omicron spreads in the community.
Businesses can continue to operate under red, but major events - including Christchurch festival Electric Avenue - would not.
"There is no plan B; the event will be cancelled, ticket holders will be refunded," Electric Ave Festival Director, Callam Mitchell said.
Thirty-thousand festival-goers have bought tickets, but organisers say they were shocked to learn the entire country would go to red within hours of an Omicron outbreak.
"Based on how the traffic light system was initially explained, there wouldn't have been a move to red until there was real pressure on the health system," Mitchell said.
Scheduled to take place over the next two months, Urban Polo events in Christchurch, Auckland and Tauranga also face the threat of cancelling in alert level red.
"We would've hoped the Prime Minister would have gone for a more regionalised approach," Managing Director of Urban Polo Simon Wilson said.
The thousands of punters who've bought tickets would be offered a refund or keep them until next year.
"We have managed to get a war chest of money together to handle this; we don't want to, but if we have to, that's what we're doing," he said.
Sporting events could also take a financial hit not being able to have fans in the stands due to the 100-person limit. But unlike in the old alert level system, Super Rugby Pacific can at least kick-off.
"If we got to [alert level] 3 and 4, we had to stop training and we had to stop playing. With the traffic light system we can still play rugby at green, orange and red," NZ Rugby's Tournaments & Competitions Head Cameron Good said.
Event organisers across all fields are hoping the lights remain orange, however, they are aware that a lot can change in 24 hours.
"It's been done before and it's part and parcel of the times these days. If it happens, it happens - but hopefully it doesn't so we can get some crowds in," Blackcap Martin Guptill said
