One Love to return in 2012

LUKE APPLEBY

The popular One Love Waitangi Day event is back after a year-long exodus from the Wellington party scene - but this year's concert will be smaller than previous years.

Radio Active, which runs the event, pulled the plug on the long-running festival in 2011, saying it could not risk running at a financial loss.

The station today announced it would hold an event at the smaller venue of Foxglove on Queen's Wharf featuring more than twenty DJ, roots and reggae acts.

"We're stoked to be bringing back One Love in a new location for this year, whilst keeping the good vibes the city has come to expect from the day,'' Radio Active station manager Dave Gibbons said.

The Hataitai Velodrome has been the event's home since 1998 and has attracted up to 10,000 people. The event celebrates Waitangi Day and Bob Marley's birthday.

Wellington City Council's Community Events Manager Rebecca Hardie said the new venue would not accommodate the same crowds as the velodrome.

"You're not going to fit 10,000 people in that venue," Ms Hardie said.

Any perceptions that this event would be to the same scale as the Hataitai event - though it shares the same name - would need to be quashed by the organiser to avoid overcrowding.

"I think there needs to be some clearer messaging," she said.

Mr Gibbons said it was too early to predict attendance numbers, but the smaller space was unlikely to attract the numbers seen at the velodrome.

He said he was not concerned by unexpected crowds and stressed forecasts were less important than the atmosphere and event returning to Wellington.

"I'll deal with it when it happens," Mr Gibbons said.

Initial line up:

Djs - Shady (Americana), Jim, Verdi, Jade/Bex, D:UNK/Akbar/Excelle (Urban Experiment), Nu Flava, Kris, TV Disco (Music Without Subtitles), Coda (The Floor), Roots and Culture Djs (Miles, Topknot, The Mighty Twig and Hawk I & Ras) and Art Official.

The details

One Love

Feburary 6 at Foxglove bar, Queen's Wharf

12pm until midnight

- © Fairfax NZ News