From arts to food to sport, an exciting year is ahead

The Auckland Pride Festival parade on Ponsonby Road in Auckland. Photo / Doug Sherring

Festivals celebrating seafood, film, comedy and gay pride, as well as the Santa Parade and a national badminton open, are among the events the Auckland Council is backing in 2013/14.

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) has confirmed the 15 events to successfully win funding from the organisation's $6 million contestable fund. The process attracted 54 applications with a combined value of almost $6 million, with nearly $5.65 million allocated in multi-year sponsorships and one-off events.

General manager destination and marketing Rachael Carroll called the diversity of the events "enviable".

"We are investing in an exciting mix of sporting, art and cultural events which will help to make Auckland the most liveable city in the world."

A further 20 events have received council backing through multi-year sponsorships or one-off deals. These include NZ Fashion Week, the ASB Classic and Heineken Open tennis tournaments, Fast 5 World Netball Series, FIM Speedway World Champs and the ITU World Series triathlon race.

"We're confident the new events season will build on the success of the 2012/13 year," Ms Carroll said. "While data from that period is not yet finalised, we're well on track to exceed our major events performance targets."

Visitor nights were likely to exceed 300,000, more than triple the target of 95,000, she said. The GDP injection was expected to be $39 million, 30 per cent above the $30 million target.