SunLive's first live steaming city Mayoral candidate crossfire last night is being praised as an informative and entertaining evening by attendees – and those watching live from at home.

The technical and first time format was welcomed by guests as a fresh approach in the lead-up to the local body elections on October 12.

Mayoral candidates answer questions at No.1 The Strand.

Set in the offices of No.1 The Strand, a makeshift television studio set the scene for a live question and answer session putting the six candidates to the test.

There was no room for error as candidates faced time pressures and a crowd grilling them with a range of questions from city debt and the future of public arts, to tourism, city infrastructure and the challenge to attract international rugby and sports events.

In the wake of poor turnouts to other ‘meet the candidates' events, Sun Media experienced a capacity-filled event with a crowd of all ages, from Tauranga Girls' College students to retirees.

Representatives from a range of organisations and businesses turned out to test the candidates – Richard Moore, Hori Leaming, incumbent Stuart Crosby, Mike Baker, John Robson and Kevin Clout.

Live streaming began on www.sunlive.co.nz from 7pm and will again be broadcast on TV Central – Channel 30 on Freeview – on Thursday, October 3 at 8pm.

Feedback from attendees today was positive with most saying the live format was something they had not experienced before.

Ellis Bryers, who runs a consultancy firm in Tauranga and is an advocate for Maori issues, says it was good to get up close and personal with the candidates.

'It was really good value for the people there; they had the opportunity to get up close and personal. Hearing them all, the format was good, they had an opportunity to talk about themselves first and then the questions they got asked and opening the floor was good too.”

Ellis says the candidates' answers were interesting, and allowed their personalities to shine.

'Stuart Crosby has obviously been playing the game for a long time - he's very slick and he knows the whole body action-type thing, he's got that really down pat.

'Whereas a couple of them sort of haven't got that skill, but that's just experience in the game really. But I thought, in the limited time, you got enough of a timeframe to sort of form a first impression of the different candidates.”

Cargo Shed stallholder spokesperson Kathy Sass thought it was incredibly well-organised but felt some the questions did not go deep enough to probing candidates' plans.

'I thought in general they handled the questions well – there were two candidates that stood out from the others in their replies.

'Yes it definitely did help me form an opinion [on whom to vote for].

'If people complain about the council they've got, they need to get involved and to hear what is being offered and vote, otherwise like my father would always say: ‘You get the vote you deserve' – if you don't vote, don't moan.”

Mount Maunganui Progressive Association chairman Dave Burnett did not realise until he turned up that the event was being streamed live.

'For that sort of thing it was excellent.

'The candidates were very typical of what they do in these sorts of things – I was disappointed in one or two of them and I was quite surprised in cases of the others.

'What the candidates had to say was predictable. They resisted the tendency, which happens in a lot of these cases, to make unrealistic promises without really knowing the background of what they're talking about – it is a common fault in these things.”

Dave says while he made up his mind some time ago about which Mayoral candidate he will vote for, he says the evening helped him decide on his vote for councillors, which some Mayoralty candidates are also standing for.

Jan Willoughby, businesswoman and marketing consultant, says the format allowed candidates to make a point, focus their strategic thinking and stick to topics.

'I think it displayed some of them have the skills which you very much need to have as a Mayor, as a profile person, as well as an ability to lead people – but some of them did demonstrate more difficulty.”