the 2024
Zuru Nightglow
Hamilton’s biggest night out is The ZURU Nightglow, and this year we are thrilled to be back at Claudelands Oval on Saturday 23rd March 2024.
We look forward to hosting you for 4 hours of live entertainment on the main stage, carnival rides and games, delicious food trucks and vendors and the highlight of the night – the glorious orchestrated hot air balloon glow, that will light up the night sky… culminating in the SkyCity Hamilton Fireworks extravaganza. FREE tickets available 9am – Monday 26th February.
Don’t forget your Lodge Lost Kids Bracelet for the ZURU Nightglow, which you can collect at Innes Common during the week or at Claudelands on Saturday. Thanks to Lodge, pick up a bracelet, write your phone number on it, put it on your child’s wrist at the ZURU Nightglow, then if you and your child lose each other, you are easily contacted by our Lodge Lost Kids team.
2024 programme
5:00pm – 5:45pm: Steve & Kenny
When in need of a little more, Steve will bring in the reinforcements (aka Kenrod Simmonds) to give the beat that extra beef & to enable the possibilty of getting people dancing. Kenny also joins in Steve at Vilagrad’s many other events throughout the year
5.45pm – 6.45pm: Decibel
The legendary Waikato party band “Decibel” gets folks of all ages moving to well-loved classic rock and pop. Fronted by a pair of energetic women who dominate the stage delivering exhilarating vocals while taking turns slaying the drum kit, backed by an electro-string trio of lads with swag. Enjoy getting into the performance with your own moves and sing along for an experience your family will fondly remember!
6:45pm – 8:00pm: The Monroes
When this band hits the stage you want your jaw to hit the floor. That is The Monroes musical mission. A truly international band with its members having performed throughout the Middle East, the United Kingdom, India, Australia and our bass player even gigged in Uganda once. The band have drawn on this experience and their band chemistry to come up with one of the most exciting entertainment experiences in New Zealand today. The Monroes cover 60+ years of popular music and have honed the skill of reading the crowd and adapting their repertoire over the course of a show to suit the audiences tastes. One thing is for sure, the dance floor is always packed, and audiences are always smiling which is the main ingredient of any great night out.
8:00pm: The Glow Show
Prepare to be thrilled as the balloons present the main event – a spectacularly stunning light and sound show, all choreographed to your favourite music. Followed by the spectacular SkyCity Hamilton Fireworks Extravaganza!
8:30pm – 9pm: afterglow
Stay on to enjoy more music from The Monroes and more food and carnival rides!
Parking information
There will be a number of full and partial road closures around Claudelands Oval from approximately 4pm – 11.00pm on Saturday 23rd March 2024 for The ZURU Nightglow. Roads affected are Brooklyn Road, Heaphy Terrace, Boundary Road, Thames Street, Kitchener Street, Stanley Street, Oakley Avenue, Piako Street, O’Neill Street and George Street.
Full list of Road Closures coming soon…..
Free Parking
Free parking will be available on surrounding streets where available.
$5 Public Parking on Claudelands Park – Access via Boundary Road
LIMITED paid parking will be available on Claudelands Park. Access will be via the Settlement Centre Waikato car park located at 46G Boundary Road. Please be aware that when leaving Claudelands Park there may be delayed wait times while pedestrian crowds are cleared. If this is a concern for you, we recommend you consider our FREE Park and Ride bus services.
Each vehicle can park for $5. Please note, this parking is on grass which may be bumpy or unstable. Take care when walking and suitable shoes are advised. While some lighting is provided, we recommend bringing a torch for yourself to aid in the return to your car when it is dark.
Car park will close at 8pm or once full.
Disability Parking
Disability parking will also be available on Claudelands Park for $5 cash. If you display a disability permit please let our parking team know and they will direct you to the allocated parks close to the event.
Drop Off Zone
Kitchener Street, refer to map.
Bikes and Scooters
Scooter and bike parking will be available at Gate 3 off Brooklyn Road.
If walking from the CBD
The best CBD walking route to take is across the Claudelands Bridge and then down O’Neill Street to Heaphy Terrace.
Traffic management for the Balloons over Waikato festival is managed by Independant Traffic Control
Colin Clifton Mobile: 027 369 0309 Email: [email protected]
Free bus information
BUSIT to The ZURU Nightglow
Take the hassle out of finding a park or stressing about the traffic – use Waikato Regional Council’s FREE Park and Ride services. Five routes will run between key Hamilton locations and Claudelands Oval for The ZURU Nightglow on Saturday, 23 March 2024. This year we’re delighted to bring you buses from The Hamilton Gardens, Melville High School, Frankton Primary School, Rotokauri and Rototuna. More buses will be running on the routes, so plan ahead and let us do the driving. FREE buses will run between 4.15pm and 7.00pm from the Park and Ride sites and special event bus stops along the routes. After The ZURU Nightglow has finished, buses will run on a continuous as-available basis until all passengers have boarded for their return journey.
Park and Ride Locations –
— Hamilton Gardens – Roadside parking along route
— Melville High School – Roadside parking Collins Road
— Frankton Primary School – Roadside parking Rifle Range Road
— Rotokauri Hub Express – Rotokauri Hub Platform 3
— Grosvenor Park, Rototuna – Roadside parking Thomas Road
Please note: Don’t worry, if you have forgotten to book your park & ride ticket, your FREE ZURU Nightglow ticket will get you onto the buses and all our buses are wheelchair friendly.
Take away the parking hassles, reduce congestion and travel with us!
Conditions of Entry – All bags will be searched upon arrival at Claudelands. To assist with the security process we recommend you avoid bringing bags where possible. Conditions of entry can be found on the Claudelands website here.
Every one over the age of 2 requires a free ticket to enter the event. After reserving your free ticket(s) to The ZURU Nightglow you will receive an ezyTicket™ via email which we encourange you to print or download on your device prior to arriving at the venue, ready to be scanned at the gate.
Food and Beverage – There will be food trucks operating at the venue. You can also bring home-made food for individual personal consumption, such as sandwiches, fruit, biscuits or cake with you to the event. Absolutely NO alcohol or commercially produced food and drinks can be brought on site.