COVID-19 information for event organisers

Public Events at Alert Level 1

At Alert Level 1 the specific controls and legal requirements for events have been lifted. However a voluntary code has been developed for Event Organisers to operate safely while delivering events at Alert Level 1.

Voluntary code for events

This Events Sector Voluntary Code outlines what the Events Sector can do to safely deliver events by following best practice expectations, which are based on Ministry of Health guidance to reduce COVID-19 related risks. It will enable the Events Sector to appropriately support the Ministry of Health to contact trace if an outbreak of COVID-19 were to occur. This code is not intended to replace existing systems and processes that the Events Sector have in place in accordance with existing legal obligations, nor is it legally binding.

The Code has been developed by the Events Sector in consultation with New Zealand Major Events at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Who is the code for?

• Event management professionals
• Promoters, owners, agencies and production organisations
• Suppliers and service providers
• Venues
• Governing bodies.

What does the code include?

• Commitment to the Ministry of Health guidance
• Facilitates effective contact tracing
• Record retention guidance
• Ways to ensure health of operators and attendees
• Encourages a culture of best practice COVID-19 risk management.

How to use the code

• Review the principals of the Code to determine where they might be overlaid alongside your existing health, safety and risk management plans.
• You may also publish this code on your website and/or other communications channels, such as sharing with your internal and external networks.

Download the Events Sector Voluntary Code [PDF, 286 KB]

Public Events at Alert Level 2

Information for running events or gatherings at Alert Level 2 is available on the COVID-19 website.

Government COVID-19 website(external link)

At Alert Level 2 in Auckland social gatherings will continue to be limited to 10 people. At Alert Level 2 in the rest of the country, social gatherings are limited to 100 people.

Visits to public venues and event venues are not social gatherings. This means public and event venues can have up to 100 customers within any defined space.

Public and event venues include:

• restaurants and cafes
• swimming pools and gyms
• libraries, and museums
• cinemas, theatres, stadiums, concert venues
• conference venues

You should keep 1 metre physical distance from people you don’t know.

Defined Spaces

Events can function with “defined spaces”. This applies to social gatherings, event facilities, and businesses that serve food and drink for consumption on site.

“Defined spaces” are important for the event sector, as the provision is intended to allow multiple groups of 100 to be present at an event, where they are clearly separated. The person in control of the defined spaces must have systems in place to ensure that the separate gatherings do not intermingle. To expand:

• Where practical, workers should provide services to only one group of 100, and cannot move between multiple groups of 100.  This is best practice and not a legal requirement.
• For indoor spaces there must be walls between the spaces. These can be temporary or permanent structures.
• For outdoor spaces there must be 2 metres of space separating each gathering of up to 100 people. You could use ropes, line markings or partitions to define these.
• Each group of up to 100 should remain 2 meters apart from other groups when using shared exits to the greatest extent practicable. This could be achieved through staggered start and end times for each group at events.
• Facilities such as toilets can be used by multiple groups of 100, if they are used at different times so multiple groups of 100 aren’t using the same facilities at once. We also recommend that additional cleaning take place between usage by different groups. Another option is to allocate dedicated toilets to each group to prevent intermingling of groups.

Event facilities

Event facilities include cinemas and casinos, but also stadiums and conference facilities. 

• Event venues can have up to 100 customers within any defined space.
• Record-keeping for contact tracing is required for workers and clients / customers.  The event facility still needs to do this even for people that know each other.
• 1 metre physical distancing is required in event facilities, apart from groups of people who all know each other, or if the event facility has been hired for a social gathering. 
• If an event facility is providing food and drink for consumption at the facility, then the food and drink provisions apply, except where the event facility has been hired for a social gathering. If the part of the event facility serving food or drink is clearly separated from the rest of the event facility, then the food and drink provisions only apply to the part of the premises serving food and drink.

Public Events at Alert Level 3

This means that gatherings of any size are cancelled and public venues are closed. Gatherings such as concerts and sporting events pose a high risk for transmission of infectious diseases.