Lorde has postponed her upcoming tour dates for Australia and New Zealand due to border restrictions and a recent Covid outbreak in New Zealand.

The Australian and New Zealand leg of the tour, which was supposed to begin in March of next year, is now scheduled to take place in February and March 2023.

"I am beyond devastated to be postponing these shows," Lorde said in a recent statement. "Starting the tour in New Zealand was always really important to me, and would have been a huge high."

"I fought this decision for a long time, but the truth is that touring internationally through a Covid outbreak has a ton of unforeseen moving parts, and I'd much rather play for you when we're all confident it will go smoothly," she added. "I want to apologise wholeheartedly to the fans. I'm so gutted to let you down, but so grateful for your understanding."

In order for the tour to proceed as planned, both countries would need to have fully open borders for citizens and non-citizens, explained Australian touring company Frontier and New Zealand touring company Eccles in a recent press release. "Limited to no quarantine" would also have to be assured from both governments.

The previous Hot Press cover star was also set to headline Christchurch's Electric Avenue festival, but she will instead headline in 2023.

Three additional shows have been added to the 2023 tour – shows at Lower Hutt's Days Bay, Brisbane's Riverstage and Perth's Belvoir Amphitheatre. Tickets go on sale on November 19, with pre-sale beginning on November 17.

Revisit Hot Press writer Paul Nolan's September 2021 interview with Lorde here. 

Rescheduled tour dates for Lorde's Australia and New Zealand shows:

FEBRUARY:
21: Lower Hutt, Days Bay
22: Lower Hutt, Days Bay (newly added)
27: Upper Moutere, Neudorf Vineyards

MARCH:
1: Havelock North, Black Barn Vineyards
3: New Plymouth, Bowl of Brooklands
4: Western Springs, Auckland, Outer Fields
7: Brisbane, Riverstage (newly added)
8: Brisbane, Riverstage
10: Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl
11: Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl
13: Sydney, Aware Super Theatre
14: Sydney, Aware Super Theatre
17: Perth, Belvoir Amphitheatre (newly added)
18: Perth, Belvoir Amphitheatre