Rotorua Bike Festival moves dates to kick-start summer of cycling

The much-loved Rotorua Bike Festival will now take place in October.

Rotorua Bike Festival trust chairman Jonathan Dodd made the announcement this week and said moving the festival from February to October would allow the popular festival to be an even bigger celebration for more of the community to enjoy.

"The Rotorua community are passionate supporters of the festival and scramble to soak up all the events they can over 10 days.

"The trust has big goals to involve more people from all walks of life including schools, arts and culture groups, sports clubs, retailers, hospitality and accommodation providers. Moving the festival to October will go a long way to making the festival a true community celebration that everyone feels connected to," he said.

The decision was made after discussion at a community consultation forum the trust hosted in May and the results of a subsequent survey of event organisers that found two-thirds were happy with the proposed date change.

Mr Dodd said it was a big decision everyone on the trust was excited to support.

"The festival is in its sixth year so it's important we keep it fresh and exciting. Hosting it in spring, when there's room on the calendar and people are full of enthusiasm for the summer ahead, will add a real spark to the celebration and the city as a whole.

"We are fortunate in Rotorua to have busy summers already full of activities, so an October festival will enable greater participation and spectating."

The 2018 festival will open on Labour Weekend and run for 10 days through to Sunday, October 28.

Feedback on the new dates had been positive.

Owner of the 2W Gravity Enduro series, Neil Gellatly, supported the move.

"With the Whaka100 on the first weekend, Giant 2W Gravity Enduro on the last, and all manner of things in between, it'll be a big 10 days in Rotorua."

The annual event is held over 10 days and included around 30 individual events and attracted around 6500 cyclists and countless spectators.

The Rotorua Bike Festival is a charitable trust which currently has seven trustees including incoming chairman Jonathan Dodd and newly appointed trustees Mead Norton and Michael Mansell.