Auckland Lantern Festival 2023 will take place at the Manukau Sports Bowl. Photo / Gareth Cooke
Auckland Lantern Festival 2023 will take place at the Manukau Sports Bowl. Photo / Gareth Cooke
The Auckland Lantern Festival will be held at a new venue next year after three years of cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited announced today that Manukau Sports Bowl has been selected as the venue for the popular free event celebrating the Year of the Rabbit.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says the festival is one of the city's best-loved cultural events and the move to Manukau is a new direction and a fresh start.
"Auckland is renowned for hosting world-class events, and with the city's pandemic recovery now well underway and most restrictions lifted, it is fantastic to be able to come together once again to celebrate our diversity and the richness in culture the Chinese community brings to our city," Goff said.
"Taking the event outside the central city for the first time and into the heart of south Auckland will add a new vibe and flavour to the festivities and better cater to the large crowds that the Lantern Festival attracts."
Jep Savali is the new Auckland Lantern Festival producer. Photo / Dean Purcell
The festival usually attracts between 160,000 to 200,000 people.
It outgrew long-time venue Albert Park in 2015, it was then held at Auckland Domain.
The 2020 Domain event and the 2021 and 2022 festivals which were set to take place at the Ports of Auckland and Auckland Showgrounds respectively were cancelled due to pandemic restrictions.
The festival typically marks the end of the 15-day Chinese New Year festivities, and will be held from February 2 to 5, featuring hand-made Chinese lanterns displayed in park-like settings, along with cultural music and dance performances, craft demonstrations, competitions, retail and food stalls.
Chris Simpson, Auckland Unlimited's head of major events said the organisation had considered a range of venues for next year's festival and discussed with key partners before deciding on Manukau Sports Bowl.
The Auckland Lantern Festival was cancelled for the last three years because of Covid-19 restrictions. Photo / Sarah Ivey
Simpson said the move also has the support of Chinese community leaders who have a long association with the festival, the Asia NZ Foundation and the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board.
"While we delivered successful online celebrations to replace the past two cancelled events, we can't wait for Aucklanders to again experience the unique sights, sounds and aromas of an in-person Lantern Festival," Simpson said.
"Manukau Sports Bowl has great outdoor spaces which are ideal for housing a large festival and it is close to both the Southern Motorway and public transport hubs, with ample parking. We're excited about an opportunity to take the festival to a new area of the city."
The event will be taking place in the four days leading up to Waitangi Day and this provides a great opportunity for all to enjoy the region's rich Chinese and Māori cultural heritage across the same long weekend, Simpson added.
Chris Simpson, Head of Major Events, Auckland Unlimited. Photo / Dean Purcell
The festival will for the first time also come under the direction of new festival producer Jep Savali, who recently joined Auckland Unlimited from SkyCity Auckland.
Savali said he is relishing the opportunity to curate the festival's fresh start, and that it was an honour for him to be the new producer for this "culturally significant festival".
"It's important to me that I honour the core values of this much-loved cultural festival and bring to life some new and exciting initiatives, while recognising the proud history of our region's Chinese community," Savali said.
"And, of course, our fundamental objective is to ensure we make the most of a great new venue so that Aucklanders and visitors alike have a great festival experience."
