Splore director John Minty would like to know why a single Linkin Park concert received government funding \u00a0\u2013\u00a0yet Aotearoa\u2019s longest-running music festival didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
John Minty realised he needed help. Earlier this year, the festival director had announced the return of Splore, his beloved and long-running three-day music event, for February 2026. Despite a surge in initial ticket sales, they\u2019d flatlined across winter. \u201cWe were quite optimistic that things would bounce back and we\u2019d have our crowd back again,\u201d Minty says. \u201cIt became evident in April-May that that wasn\u2019t going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Minty discovered the government\u2019s major events package. Announced by prime minister Christopher Luxon and tourism and hospitality minister Louise Upston in September, the $70 million fund was created to support promoters booking more concerts and festivals. \u201cWe know big events deliver,\u201d Upston said at the time. \u201cMajor events \u2026 can be a bonanza for the cities and regions which host them, supporting local jobs and incomes in the hospitality and retail sectors and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crowd at Splore 2021 and Splore founder John Minty (Photos: Ainsley DS; supplied)<\/p>\n
Minty believed Splore would be a perfect fit. Started in 1998, and run by Minty since 2006, the T\u0101papakanga Regional Park event is the country\u2019s longest-running music festival. It costs $3 million to put it on each year, yet, aside from a handful of international headliners, most of that money goes back into the local community. Up until it suffered sluggish ticket sales in 2024, Splore has always been profitable while Minty has been in charge.<\/p>\n
So, when he saw Upston\u2019s fund being announced, Minty thought \u201cwow\u201d. He spent two weeks putting together what he calls a \u201cpersuasive proposal\u201d that outlined Splore\u2019s contributions to the local community. He requested $240,000 to keep his festival afloat, pointing out how the coastal site, about 45 minutes south of T\u0101maki Makaurau, \u201cshowcased New Zealand\u201d to international visitors. \u201cIt\u2019s 100% New Zealand-owned,\u201d he says. \u201cUp to 90% of the $3 million we spend goes back into New Zealand businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he wrote his proposal, Minty thought about how his festival had an all-female main stage lineup in 2020, and is as sustainable as it can possibly be. It\u2019s the country\u2019s only event with a stage perched on the beach, where punters can watch artists perform while standing in the surf. Then he remembered the conversations he\u2019d had with overseas promoters and his international headliners. They\u2019d told him repeatedly he had \u201cthe best festival in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n
Minty\u2019s application was rejected. When asked why, Upston referred The Spinoff to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment\u2019s acting manager of major events, Lisa Gibson. In a supplied statement, Gibson said they\u2019d received 198 applications and they\u2019d had to make tough decisions about which ones to fund. \u201cThe government considered the range of events and spread around the country when making decisions,\u201d she said. \u201cUnfortunately, not all applications could be supported.\u201d<\/p>\n
Disappointed, Minty looked again at Splore\u2019s ticket sales. The projections weren\u2019t great. He thought: \u201cThis isn\u2019t looking good \u2026 I don\u2019t want to be hanging out for yet another year hoping things improve.\u201d So, on Tuesday last week, he issued a press release. Headlined, \u201cEnd of an era,\u201d Minty outlined how next year\u2019s Splore would be its last. \u201cIt\u2019s becoming more difficult to sustain a festival of Splore\u2019s quality and depth,\u201d he wrote. \u201cRather than diluting it I\u2019d rather it finish with a bang.\u201d<\/p>\n
The outcry was immediate. Minty calls the response \u201cintense\u201d. Fans have emailed, texted and called to ask why he\u2019s pulling the plug. They tell him how much Splore has meant to them, and share their memories. \u201cI\u2019ve been running into people on the street,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople I\u2019ve never seen before are coming up to me, saying, \u2018I\u2019ve been to every Splore, I grew up with Splore, my kids grew up with Splore.\u201d Minty feels sheepish when this happens. \u201cI\u2019m going, \u2018Oh, shit! Sorry!’\u201d<\/p>\n
Splore 2024, seen from above (Photo: Glenn McLelland)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an outpouring of love that came with a brief surge in ticket sales. Yet none of this has changed Minty\u2019s mind. He shares the same concerns as the promoters of festivals like One Love, Listen In and Womad, who have all called off this summer\u2019s events citing increasing costs, lower ticket sales and the country\u2019s economic conditions. \u201cThe reality is, money\u2019s tight and people can\u2019t afford to go to everything. Consumers are being pretty selective,\u201d he says. \u201cIn terms of a resurrection \u2026 my intent is to wrap it up next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Minty does have one question he\u2019d like an answer to: why did the government deny him the $240,000 he needed for Splore to continue? Minty\u2019s only been told that he \u201cdidn\u2019t meet the criteria\u201d. But he \u201cquibbles\u201d with that, especially since Upston announced a concert by the American nu-metal act Linkin Park, promoted by the international juggernaut Live Nation, among the first recipients of her fund. \u201cWhere\u2019s the value to New Zealand for that?\u201d says Minty.<\/p>\n
Splore has never sought corporate sponsorship or pushed alcohol sales, things Minty says other festivals do to help turn a profit. Instead, Splore offers art trails, wellness classes and free entry for kids. Those extras add up. \u201cIt\u2019s a very expensive festival to run. The difference between breaking even and losing money is maybe 500 to 1,000 tickets,\u201d says Minty. \u201cIf we got that funding I definitely wouldn\u2019t have been announcing the last Splore. That would have made a world of difference, definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t to be. So, next February, Splore fans have one last chance to dress up, stand in the surf, dance among the trees and enjoy one final festival. Minty doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019ll be doing next, but he\u2019s looking forward to forgetting all the stress that running a music festival has caused him over the past couple of years. \u201cWe want to wrap it up as something that is very special, tie a ribbon on it, let people enjoy the memories of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
A whopping 28 years of history is about to end. The weight of that is beginning to hit Minty. \u201cIt does make me sad that we can\u2019t carry it on,\u201d he says. \u201cFestivals like Splore and Womad are important cultural events, as opposed to a six-hour event in a park with a few overseas DJs. This is a key fabric of our culture.\u201d He pauses, then says: \u201cI always wanted to think that when I exit it would carry on for ever \u2026 it\u2019s such a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n