Come 18 January, more than 45,000 Kiwis - mostly young ones - will be putting on shorts and sunscreen before heading to Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium for New Zealand's largest music festival, the Big Day Out.

If you're planning on going to one music festival over the summer, Big Day Out is it, reckons 19-year-old Wellington student Katie Grant. The 2008 event is her third - and it's guaranteed to be a particularly big day out since it's also the same day as her twentieth birthday. Needless to say, she's already got her ticket - a present from her mum.

"The atmosphere is great and you always see people you know. I go to music gigs in Wellington during the year but I love the Big Day Out. We stay on in Auckland for a few days afterwards to go to other gigs and go shopping."

Katie is looking forward to catching up on some New Zealand bands (The Checks, Cut Off Your Hands, White Birds & Lemons) as well as international acts (Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem).

"But one of the really cool things is when you discover new bands that you've never even heard of, and then go out and buy their albums," she says.

Huge line-up

With a line-up of more than 50 local and international acts rocking from 10am to 11.30pm, Big Day Out 2008 will provide plenty of opportunities for new discoveries, as well as some old favourites.

Phoenix Foundation is one of the Kiwi bands invited to strut their stuff at Big Day Out. Luke Buda (guitar, vocals, keys) says they're looking forward to playing to "45,000 crazy teenagers" and checking out the other bands - especially North America's Arcade Fire, whom he describes as "one of the best of a new bunch of bands".

Phoenix Foundation will also be promoting its new album, Happy Ending. "Over the past year, we've played more gigs in the States than in New Zealand and we're playing better than ever. The Big Day Out is a chance to play our new stuff to an audience that may not have been to a Phoenix gig."

Growing audience

Back in January 1992, Big Day Out was launched in Sydney to an audience of 9,500. Within two years, Auckland, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth had been added – attracting a total audience of 120,000. By 2007, the audience had grown to 276,000.

The first Big Day Out for 2008 will kick off in Auckland and, based on trends in previous years, organisers expect tickets to be sold out before Christmas. The event will then move to Australia, where tickets to all the festivals have already sold out.

In Auckland, the inaugural 1994 event drew a crowd of less than 15,000, says one of its long-time organisers John Leach. But as the event itself grew, so did the audiences.

"In the old days, you had to come prepared with coats, rugs and a packed lunch," John says. "Now, all you have to do is turn up with your ticket and your eftpos card. You can buy sunscreen when you get there."

John's an exuberant fellow, who loves the Big Day Out - and thinks the young people who flock to the festival are great.

"We're very proud of this event. It's an amazing thing to be involved in and I think we've made it a cool thing. What makes it special is when the weather, the people and the moment all come together."

You have to be 15 to attend but most of the audience is 18 to 20-year-olds, with a healthy smattering of old rockers and families.

Although organisers say they don't release demographic information - who attends, what age, where from - John Leach reckons there's a growing number of out-of-towners coming to the Big Day Out. Don't try to get a rental car in Auckland that week, he warns.

And for the thousands upon thousands of young people planning to head to Mt Smart Stadium on 18 January, organisers have one overriding message: "Care for others, have fun and get home safely."

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