US talk show The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is about to get a taste of the southern hemisphere, with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern set to make an appearance later this month.
Almost a decade ago, Americans were given a sneak peek into New Zealand politics when then-PM John Key appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman as a means to promote tourism in New Zealand.
Sadly, the appearance was pretty poorly-received, with many Americans and New Zealanders alike deriding his cringeworthy spot on the show.
Now, current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to take on the US talk show scene, and we have a feeling this one might go a lot better than John Key’s appearance.
Currently in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly, Jacinda Arden is set to make a stop over at the Ed Sullivan Theater to film a short appearance on the talk show.
While it’s not currently known when her appearance will make it to air, or what the popular PM will be discussing, many New Zealanders are worrying that her appearance will focus too heavily on her status as a new mother, rather than a head of government.
However, there’s every chance that this appearance will also be used as a chance for Stephen Colbert to profess his love for Middle Earth.
One of the most prominent fans of Lord Of The Rings in the world, Stephen Colbert made the trip down to New Zealand five years back to make a cameo appearance in Peter Jackson’s 2013 film, The Hobbit.
This fact, mixed with Ardern’s role as the head of a highly-desirable tourist destination means that her late-night appearance could be an invaluable tool for the New Zealand tourism industry.
Jacinda Ardern’s appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert comes just week after the PM appeared at the Going Global music industry summit in Auckland where she expressed her desire for New Zealand to be a major player on the world stage.
“I want our anthems to travel without us as well,” Ardern said to the crowd. “I want our anthems to go abroad without having to be alongside us, just in and of themselves as our ambassadors for New Zealand and our creativity. […] But what is it going to take for us to be a net exporter of music?”
“I’m interested in what we can do to make sure that we are doing a better job at promoting New Zealand music to streaming services,” she continued. “Now I know our counterparts in Australia are starting to do that but I’m not sure that we are making the most of that opportunity here at certainly the central Government level.”
At this stage, we’ll have to wait and see what her talk show appearance will consist of, but it’s looking like at the very least, it’s going to be a major boost of publicity for New Zealand.
Check out Jacinda Arden’s interview on The Project:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqZgS8UKfZg
