A few hiccups, but the show(s) must go on

Dunedin's two-yearly arts festival is ready and raring to take to the stage today after problems with everything from finding venues to finding missing paint were resolved.

Performers were arriving in the city yesterday and technicians were working hard to prepare venues.

Arts Festival Dunedin director Nicholas McBryde said organisation had gone well.

"There have been some hiccups, but they've just been little ones."

They included a batch of paint that did not arrive and had to be freighted from another city, which had put his crew 48 hours behind schedule.

"Just those sort of little things that are always sent to try us."

He said in July the task of finding venues after the Fortune Theatre closed in May had been lengthy and complex.

Yesterday he said ticket sales had been "good, but could be better".

"Dunedin is notoriously slow at deciding what to do."

Mr McBryde said he had lost some sleep before the festival, but that was "absolutely part of the job".