Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie will open the event alongside his eight-piece band, The State Highway Wonders.
In a statement, Drax Project said the Town Hall was closed before the band even formed, and playing the venue had long been a dream.
WellingtonNZ’s Heidi Morton said the Town Hall’s reopening represented a “defining cultural moment for our city”, with the event billed as a “celebration of music, community, and heritage”.
Presale tickets go live tomorrow.
Wellington Town Hall Te Whare Whakarauika has been undergoing $329m strengthening and refurbishment works. photo / WCC
The reopening follows one of Wellington’s most contentious civic projects, plagued by escalating costs and controversy.
The cost of earthquake-strengthening and redeveloping the Town Hall has ballooned from $43m to $60m, $90m, $112m and is now estimated to be $329m.
Demolishing the building was said at the time to be unrealistic, due to the Town Hall’s heritage listing and consenting constraints, council officials said.
Wellington City Council’s former chief executive Barbara McKerrow said in 2023 that it would be one of the most complex and risky projects undertaken in recent times in New Zealand.
The refreshed site also includes state-of-the-art audio recording studios in the basement, operated by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh gave $2m in August to help build the new facility.
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.