'Absolute chaos': Fans stranded after late end to Olivia Dean concert

The 40-minute delay at last night’s Olivia Dean concert in Auckland did little to dampen the spirits of the 40,000-strong crowd – but the flow-on effects brought frustration for many trying to get home.

“One of the implications of the later show finish was that some of the scheduled public transport services had finished by the time that a number of patrons had made their way out,” Auckland Stadiums director James Parkinson said.

“The scheduled shuttle bus operation continued as planned and all of those patrons were transported.”

Fans told the Herald that it was “absolute chaos” trying to get to the train station or further.

“We walked to avoid some of the traffic and managed to get an overpriced Uber fairly quickly. The roads around Western Springs were certainly busy,” one concert-goer said.

Despite some disappointment with the unscheduled break and its implications, the overwhelming majority of the crowd at the revamped Western Springs Bowl described the event as an “amazing night” with a “fantastic atmosphere” and crediting Dean with keeping the mood positive.

“The crowd was patient and kind, feeding off Olivia’s beautiful energy!” one concertgoer said.

“Honestly, she was just so uplifting, positive and radiated energy! Non-stop smiling, dancing, and giving so much energy to the crowd. Just a big ball of light!” another said.

“I didn’t hear any grumbling from the crowd. It was cold, but the atmosphere stayed happy,” another fan, who had flown up from Christchurch, said.

More than 40,000 fans packed into the Western Springs Bowl to see British singer Olivia Dean. Photo / Auckland Stadiums

Attendee Blake Weston told the Herald that it spoke volumes to Dean’s energy when “within two seconds of her coming back out on stage, we’d all forgotten anything even happened!”.

“At the start of the show, before the delay, she spoke about how every single person is capable of giving love to others, but equally worthy of receiving love.

When she came back out after her team had technical difficulties for 40 minutes, “her energy was so contagious that it made you realise that being mad wouldn’t have made anyone’s nights any better. It’s better to give love!” Weston said.

Parkinson echoed the fans’ experience.

“You could just see the enjoyment, the roar that went up from the crowd at the end of her final song. There were no negative vibes coming off the crowd as a result of that interruption,” he said.

But at least one nearby resident gave Noise Control a call after the show breached the 11pm curfew. An officer attended but noted at 11.28pm that they were “unable to detect any noise, as such, no further action was taken”.

James Parkinson, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited Director, Auckland Stadiums. Photo / Jason Dorday

The concert ended at about 11.20pm. Parkinson said that the 40,000-strong crowd was Dean’s largest-ever headline show and she was “clearly, committed” to giving them the full concert experience.

“So, the net result was that it did end up running about 20 minutes past curfew. And we are in contact with Auckland Council about that.

Parkinson couldn’t yet say if there would be a fine for the breach.

“That’s an ongoing discussion with [the] council and they have a process that they need to follow, and we’ll be co-operating fully with them on that.”

Olivia Dean. Photo / Getty Images

The party atmosphere continued after the show with a video circulating on social media of an impromptu group singalong to Dean’s hit duet with Sam Fender – Rein Me In. The group of about 40 people can be seen singing and dancing on a petrol station forecourt.

Parkinson says he was pleased with how the refurbished venue performed in its first real test.

He thought “the arrival process, the loading of the venue, food and beverage, all went very smoothly” and “it all contributed to that very chill vibe that was evident amongst the crowd”.

“For us, this event has been a very positive endorsement of the potential of Western Springs Bowl. It really showed what that venue is capable of,” Parkinson said, adding that his team will debrief and work through areas for further improvement.

The cause of the delay hasn’t fully been explained by the promoter – Handsome Tours and Parkinson told the Herald that they were advised that Olivia Dean’s team were “addressing issues with their equipment”, but had no more information than that.