Splore 2021: John Minty on Covid nightmares, keeping the festival quirky and Treaty relationships
13 Feb, 2021 04:00 PM
10 minutes to read
Saturday night s dress-up party is one of the most popular features of Splore. Photo / File
Saturday night s dress-up party is one of the most popular features of Splore. Photo / File
Social issues reporter, NZ Heraldmichael.neilson@nzherald.co.nz
Fifteen years ago Splore was on the edge of collapse. Now, the festival has sold out three years in a row and, in a world of lockdowns amid Covid-19, 2021 is looking to be the most special yet. Michael Neilson speaks to director John Minty about organising a festival during a global pandemic, and how it has stuck true to its quirky roots despite the surge in popularity.
I bought the section the apartment building is on as an investment quite a few years ago. I just felt that this area would probably get developed into more intensive housing. That s what the council was pushing for. I bought that, half expecting at some stage, a developer might approach me to buy the land and build an apartment building. That s exactly what did happen in the end. I said to the developer, “I ll sell you the land for the apartment building, but I need a place on the roof.” I gave him the dimensions of what I required in terms of area, size, configuration – that type of thing.