Last week's Ellerslie International Flower Show was the last the City of Sails will see. Photo / Dean Purcell
The Ellerslie International Flower Show has been bought by the Christchurch City Council.
The council today unanimously approved purchasing the show - which annually attracts about 65,000 people over its five days - after organisers accepted the council's bid ahead of competition from Auckland and Hamilton councils.
Mayor
Bob Parker said the outcome was "superb" for the city.
"Christchurch is the Garden City," he said. "The Ellerslie International Flower Show is the very best in the country with international links. This prestigious event is such a good fit for our city and will boost Christchurch's garden city image even further.
It believed that the present owners of the show, NZ Flower and Garden, will continue to manage it for at least five years.
The show will be held in Christchurch from next year.
Mr Parker said that given attendances at Christchurch's other main events and the passion for gardening in the city, the council was confident it could achieve a similar high level of attendance.
The decision to move the show follows Auckland City Council's decision to bow out of a rescue package.
But Auckland City Council finance chairman Doug Armstrong blamed the Manukau City Council and Auckland Regional Council for losing it to Christchurch.
Last week, the finance committee rejected officers' advice to contribute $50,000 over each of the next three years as part of a rescue package to keep the show at the regional council's Botanic Gardens in Manukau.
"If the decision not to pay $50,000 was a tipping point, it would probably have gone anyway," Mr Armstrong said.
No-one could accuse Auckland City of not pulling its weight when it paid the lion's share of regional facilities like the Maritime Museum and no other councils were coming forward for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, he said.
Mr Armstrong said the new John Banks-led council was taking a hardline on spending to deliver lower rate rises.
The show has been held in Auckland since its inception in 1994 and is worth more than $12 million to the regional economy.
This year's show ended yesterday, with more than 65,000 people passing through the gates at the Auckland Botanical Gardens.
- NZHERALD STAFF / NZPA
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