Remember the sheer joy of tearing open the packaging of a new Hot Wheels car? That little die-cast model held the promise of imaginary burnouts and epic tabletop jumps. Well, it seems New Zealand hasn’t forgotten that feeling, and they’re upgrading from the tabletop to the stadium in record-breaking numbers.
In what organisers are calling a stunning display of “joy spending,” Kiwis have thrown their support behind the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow-N-Fire tour, so much so that the Auckland show has officially become a global phenomenon. The 4th of October event at Eden Park has sold more tickets than any other single show in the tour’s seven-year history, which has spanned North America, Europe, and Australia.
The response has been so immense that a second and final Auckland show has been added for Sunday, 5 October, to meet the colossal demand.Eden Park’s CEO, Nick Sautner, is understandably thrilled, noting that in the venue’s 125-year history, a show of this kind has never been staged there before.
The hallowed turf, typically home to nail-biting scrums and conversion kicks, will instead play host to fiery wheelies and gravity-defying jumps from life-size versions of iconic toys. It seems Aucklanders are proving that despite economic pressures, you can’t put a price on quality family entertainment, especially when it involves the glorious crunch of metal.
The appeal is powerfully cross-generational. As Sautner puts it, “parents and even grandparents are reliving their childhoods while watching their kids light up.”It’s a spectacle featuring monster truck royalty like Bigfoot, Bone Shaker, Tiger Shark, and Mega Wrex, all brought to life under the stadium lights.
This runaway success isn’t limited to Auckland; a second show was also added in Dunedin after the first sold out, making the New Zealand tour one of the fastest-growing in the event’s history. It’s all fueled by a brand that sells a toy car every 20 seconds at The Warehouse, the tour’s presenter. So, if you want to witness the mayhem, here are the dates for your diary:
- Dunedin – Forsyth Barr Stadium: Saturday 20 Sept (SOLD OUT) & Sunday 21 Sept (NEW SHOW)
- Wellington – Sky Stadium: Saturday 27 September
- Auckland – Eden Park: Saturday 4 October & Sunday 5 October (NEW SHOW)With general admission tickets starting from just $45, it’s the most affordable way to see your childhood dreams—and possibly a few cars—get crushed on a grand scale.
