MOTAT Christmas Lights 10th anniversary spectacle cancelled

Ripu Bhatia Reporter from Auckland Stuff

A popular Christmas light show has been cancelled due to public safety concerns and the uncertainty of Covid-19 restrictions.

Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) announced on Wednesday that the 10th anniversary celebration of Christmas Lights will not go ahead this year.

MOTAT spokeswoman Sally Manuireva said the decision to cancel the event was a difficult one, as it is the museum’s largest event of the year.

The Auckland event was attended by over 60,000 visitors over 12 nights last year.

“While I know this may be disappointing news for many families who were looking forward to this event, keeping our visitors safe is our top priority,” Manuireva said.

“We’ve decided to make this call now to give our suppliers transparency and allow our team to focus on our summer programming.”

This marks the first occasion where MOTAT’s Christmas Lights has been canned.

MOTAT will still light up its heritage Pumphouse building and erect a 20ft Christmas tree which will be visible from Great North Road.

The Museum will release ‘12 Days of Christmas’, which consists of free online crafts and activities which can be accessed on the online education platform MOTAT.FUN.