Charity concert to help victims of Cyclone Gabrielle sells out in under six hours

A charity concert to raise money for the victims of Cyclone Gabrielle has sold out in less than six hours.

On Friday, hundreds of people will gather at the Christchurch Town Hall for the Ōtautahi 4 Aotearoa Cyclone Relief Concert, headlined by artists Lorde, Neil Finn and L.A.B.

Tickets went on sale 2pm on Tuesday for $129.90 and were sold out before 8pm, the organisers said.

The official numbers of tickets sales and estimates of how much the concert will raise have not been released, but the profits will go towards the Red Cross New Zealand’s disaster fund.

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Artists are performing for free, Ticketek has waived its booking fees, and the venue and staff time are being donated.

Team Event director Callam Mitchell said the crew were “over the moon” with the response.

“This is going to be a very special night.”

Brent Eccles, who is credited with the idea of the charity concert, also expressed his gratitude to the people of Ōtautahi.

Many of the artists will already be in town for the sold-out Electric Avenue festival on Saturday, including Marlon Williams, Tiki Taane, Lee Mvtthews​ and Supergroove.

The Red Cross has been setting up and managing Civil Defence Centres and providing essential supplies such as stretchers, blankets and hygiene kits in the wake of last week’s cyclone, as well as having staff who are trained in psychosocial support to help those forced from their homes.

The clean-up of communities across the North Island is expected to cost billions of dollars.

On Monday, the Government earmarked $250 million for local councils and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to assess and fix roads.

A further $50m was set aside for interim emergency business and primary sector support.