Ngāti Whakaue were worthy champions. Photo / Te Matatini Enterprises
Ngāti Whakaue were worthy champions. Photo / Te Matatini Enterprises
Te Tauihu o te Waka-a-Māui Cultural Council is confident the region is up to hosting Te Matatini in 2027.
Speculation has been rife the region at the top of the South Island could miss out on its host status over infrastructure and accommodation concerns.
In normal circumstances, the mauri - the Te Matatini taonga - would be passed to the next holders of the event, as one event closes.
But before the 2025 festival ended at New Plymouth that did not occur. Te Matatini chief executive Carl Ross says that as the festival grows in size and status, the organisation must do its “due diligence” in ensuring the next host region has its set up right.
Sonny Alesana, chairman of the Te Tauihu o te Waka-a-Māui Cultural Council.
Sonny Alesana, chairman of the Te Tauihu o te Waka-a-Māui Cultural Council, which is organising the event, says while the concerns are valid and well accounted, all issues have been addressed.
“We understand there is due diligence that needs to be done, and we fully respect the process, but that does not mean any issues identified are insurmountable,” Alesana said.
“We’ve done our homework, we know the expectations upon us, and we’ve been working since 2013 to ensure we can live up to expectations and welcome the tens of thousands of manuhiri expected for the event.”
Te Matatini 2025 was held at the Bowl in New Plymouth and had a record 55 teams competing, sold out on the finals day and a worldwide video audience of 21+ million views - making it one of the biggest to date.
Te Tauihu was confirmed as the host region in 2013. Originally scheduled for 2025, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 edition in Tāmaki Makaurau, pushing the event in Whakatū out to 2027.
Te Matatini CEO Carl Ross and Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Photo / Te Mataini
Alesana said the cultural council, established more than 50 years ago to promote the development of kapa haka in the region, had strong support from the eight iwi of Te Tauihu, Nelson City Council and the Tasman and Marlborough district councils.
He said the Nelson Regional Development Agency and other major players in the region were also on board to ensure Te Tauihu could put its best foot forward.
Nelson City Council had also established a Te Matatini Governance Group, specifically to deal with infrastructure issues, Alesana said.
“More than a decade of work has gone into this. We’ve done the groundwork, and we are ready.”
Te Matatini hand the mauri stone to Te Kāhui Maunga.
Alesana said preparations had ramped up in the past five years and the cultural council alongside the eight iwi are Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Toa.
Rangatira, Rangitāne o Wairau and Te Ātiawa o te waka-a-Māui successfully hosted the national primary school kapa haka competition, Te Mana Kuratahi, in 2023 and hosted the national secondary schools kapa haka festival seven months later where 15,000 visitors descended on the region.
“Hosting these events has allowed us to finetune and identify the gaps,” Alesana said, “and we’ve worked hard to find solutions where challenges have presented.”
He said that while discussions as part of the normal due diligence process were continuing and final decisions still needed to be made, the cultural council’s position had not changed.
“We are confident that we can host, and we are actively working with Te Matatini to ensure they have confidence in us, too.”
