A hot August night coming
10 August 2004
By ROBYN MCLEAN
Wellingtonians can look forward to a hot August night – next February.
Singer Neil Diamond is set to rock Westpac Stadium for a one-off show. It will be the first time Diamond has played the capital.
It is understood promoters will announce the concert next week. A show is also planned for Christchurch.
Speculation has been rife on who the stadium’s next big act would be after the David Bowie concert last February.
The official Neil Diamond website states the singer has no concerts planned this year, but he expects a world tour early next year.
Diamond has a huge number of fans in New Zealand. Sales for his 1996 Auckland concert broke records when 40,000 tickets sold in nine hours, with Wellington fans sleeping outside the Opera House to secure theirs.
Diamond last visited New Zealand in 1999, when he played four sold-out concerts in Christchurch.
Before his 1996 concert, the man behind the hits Cracklin’ Rosie, Song Sung Blue, Sweet Caroline and the album A Hot August Night, played Auckland and Christchurch in 1976.