Liquor is banned in more areas than normal in Rotorua this weekend as the Bay of Plenty prepares for one of the region's biggest annual concerts.
The annual Raggamuffin music festival will be held in Rotorua this Saturday at the Rotorua International Stadium.
The city's new temporary ban will be enforced outside the venue and its surrounding streets.

File graphic with Google Earth: The liquor ban for the Raggamuffin music festival extends further than just Rotorua International Stadium.

This is the first year that a liquor ban has been enforced in the areas surrounding Rotorua International Stadium during the Raggamuffin event.
The usual liquor bans remain in place in the CBD and public spaces around Rotorua.
The liquor ban covers a wide block around the stadium, with a loop encompassing Pukehangi Road, Malfroy Road, Jervis Street, Huia Street, all of Devon Street West, and all streets and reserves within that area.
Rotorua police area commander Inspector Bruce Horne says police were keen to see a liquor ban implemented in the area in an effort to ensure the event runs as smoothly as possible.
'Continuous improvement is fundamental to our approach to policing in Rotorua and achieving excellence in planning for major events has been a focus for us in recent years.”
'It will be even more important as we look towards planning for the Rugby World Cup in 2011.”
'In order to ensure that we continue to learn, we always debrief our response to major events, and we include our partners in that discussion.”
He says one of the issues identified last year was that there were a large number of people carrying and consuming alcohol in the streets leading up to the venue, and in the car parks outside the venue.
'This not only caused some anxiety for local residents and concert-goers, but also increased the risk of intoxicated people becoming disorderly and damaging property.”
'That problem has been mitigated in part by improvements made by the organisers in providing a range of food, beverage and merchandise tents in a field adjacent to the venue.
'Nevertheless, intoxicated people moving to and from the venue have been a concern, and the implementation of the liquor ban this year helps remove that risk and enhances public safety.”