The ‘Vampire’ singer has never visited our part of the world, but that might all be about to change. We assess the evidence.

Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour is pulling in massive crowds as it whips around the US and Europe, even helping to catapult regular supporting act Chappell Roan to abrupt stardom. But so far, there has been no suggestion the Grammy Award winner will ever make it to New Zealand. 

That may all be about to change. The Spinoff has received information (seen a TikTok, then done some Googling) that the ‘Driver’s License’ singer could finally be winging her way to the Southern Hemisphere. If true, New Zealand audiences would be able to see the concert that has been clogging up many a TikTok feed since February. 

An appearance by Rodrigo on our shores would undoubtedly be one of the hottest tickets of the year. Sza recently sold out three Spark Arena shows, while Coldplay and Pink have taken over Eden Park. The Taylor Swift phenomenon injected millions into the Australian economy, while draining hundreds from fans’ (including mine) bank accounts, when her Eras Tour landed in Melbourne and Sydney two months ago. 

Back to Sza, days before Live Nation announced her tour, an article appeared in print by the NZ Herald announcing the tour. The article wasn’t published online (strange and unusual) and at the time, there was no evidence of a Sza visit to NZ. Was it a case of accidentally breaking an embargo? Probably. But then a tour was announced shortly after. Perhaps it was a deliberate leak to stir up attention. Maybe this little investigation is just repeating the cycle.

But why do we believe Rodrigo is about to drop New Zealand dates? Let’s assess what we know.

The evidence

This TikTok video. A TikTok user shows what happened when they Googled “Olivia Rodrigo NZ”. It brings up a link to Live Nation’s New Zealand website advertising a Guts World Tour date for October 19 at Spark Arena. “Was this always here or am I tripping?” asks the TikTok user. I firmly believe they are not tripping.

The Live Nation website. When I Googled the same, I did not see a date displayed. However, the link was still the top result. It now takes you to a 404 error page. But if you look in the URL, it contains the crucial information: “auckland/2024-10-19”.How do Americans, of which Rodrigo is one, write their dates? With the month first, then the date. October 19, 2024.

There is a waitlist. At 7am, the top result on Google was still a page for the Guts World Tour. Now, it’s a Live Nation waitlist asking: “Do you want to be the first to know when Olivia Rodrigo is touring New Zealand?” Waitlists can be just a way to farm email addresses. But it could also be a sign that something is coming. 

The tour name. The tour is called the Guts “World Tour”. The world, famously, includes New Zealand (even if many maps do not acknowledge this “fact”). 

Rodrigo promised she’d come to Australia this year. Rodrigo was set to visit Australia for a promotional visit last year. That was cancelled, but fans of the singer were told that she’d be heading down “in 2024”. It is now “2024” and Australia is very close to New Zealand. 

Rodrigo really loves Glassons. In 2021, Stuff reported that Rodrigo had been snapped wearing a corset from Glassons. The New Zealand brand has begun to extend itself into other markets, including the US, catching the singer’s attention. If Rodrigo visits New Zealand this year, she could pop out to Westfield St Luke’s (walking distance from Eden Park) and visit a Glassons store.

Taylor Swift’s album dropped last week. There are rumours that Rodrigo and Swift are in some sort of celebrity feud. What better way to take attention away from the world’s biggest pop star than to announce your own concerts in New Zealand? Then there is the connection between one of Rodrigo’s biggest hits ‘Get Him Back’ and Swift’s new B-side ‘I’mgonnagetyouback’. Perhaps Rodrigo wants to Get Her Back by touring in a country that was snubbed by Swift? 

The Guts “World Tour” is currently set to end in August. August is two months before October, meaning there’s a big wide gap in her schedule that coincides with the rumoured dates. That would give the singer time to relax, recover and then pop down under. It is well-established that pop stars like about two months in between tour legs.

What do the tour promoters say?

The Spinoff asked Live Nation for comment earlier this morning. We haven’t yet heard back. That in itself is suspicious. If this wasn’t true, would they not instantly dismiss it in order to prevent us from publishing our dossier of evidence (see: above)? Or have we fallen into their free publicity trap as obvious as Taylor Swift on an e-scooter?