Bumper crowds a heartening sign for Christchurch events

Cantabrians are flocking to events in record numbers despite continued cost of living pressures in a heartening sign for events in the region.

Venues Ōtautahi, which operates Christchurch Town Hall, Wolfbrook Arena, Hagley Oval, the Air Force Museum of New Zealand, Apollo Projects Stadium and from April 2026, One New Zealand Stadium, reported a post-Covid high 718,443 people through their venues in the last financial year, 44% higher than targets.

The numbers were part of the Christchurch City Council-owned venues and event management company’s Annual Report for the July 2024-June 2025 financial year, released this week.

Across the organisation’s venues, it hosted 408 events, up from 386 in the previous year, with that number expected to continue to grow rapidly with the opening of One NZ Stadium in 2026.

Venues Ōtautahi Chief Executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said it was positive to see the Waitaha, Canterbury community get out and embrace the wide variety of events across the venues.

“It reinforces the vitality of the city’s event landscape but also the heartening desire for people to gather, even amid continued cost of living pressures and broader economic uncertainty.”

“The attendance numbers, combined with Aotearoa’s premier venue, One NZ Stadium, set to open next April, mean our city is well placed to be the top destination when events come to the country.”

She said more events and higher attendance numbers meant great news for the Christchurch economy.

“Venues Ōtautahi remains committed to local procurement and celebrating and sourcing local. This is a core part of who we are and how we do business. Once again, we’ve hit the mark with 80% of food and 71% of our suppliers from the region,” she said.

“A strong events sector means so much for the vibrancy and economic wellbeing of the city, and with our commitment to supporting local, the city’s economy is in even better shape. We are proud of the estimated $41.8million direct and indirect contribution to the region the events held at the city’s venues through both visitation and local procurement have provided over the past financial year.”

The organisation has not been immune to the challenging economic climate, but Harvie-Teare said was pleased with its financial performance.

“As an organisation proudly representative of our community, we share the economic headwinds of many businesses in our region. With increased costs of doing business across the board including labour, repairs and maintenance, utilities and food we are also delighted with the strong financial performance for the 24/25 year reporting a $2.8m and $3.1m positive variance to revenue and EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) respectively. These results highlighting the strength of commercial agreements established over the year, a strong programme of event activity and the continued focus on stringent cost control”.

While the event figures were a highlight, Harvie-Teare said she was particularly proud of the organisation’s continued efforts in its drive to achieve its 2030 carbon-neutral target.

“Environmental sustainability is a core strategic focus,” she said. “We are making great progress across our venues. Two areas we made significant strides in were a 44% reduction in transport fuel used and an 11% reduction in electricity related emissions versus our 2023 baseline.”

November 2024 proved to Venues Ōtautahi’s busiest month in the financial year with 57 events across the venues, while the Christchurch Town Hall hosted the most events with 268 and Wolfbrook Arena led the total attendance figures with 294,166.

Ticketed events accounted for 31 percent of the total, business events 56 percent and community events 13 percent.

Among the highlights were concerts like Bryan Adams, Hozier, Teddy Swims, Crowded House, ZZ Top, Toto and Thom Yorke, comedians Sarah Milican, David Walliams and Graham Norton, children’s performances Bluey and The Wiggles, international sporting fixtures including the Kiwis, Kiwi Ferns, Black Ferns, Black Caps, White Ferns and Tall Blacks and of course welcoming the One NZ Warriors and the Wellington Phoenix back to their second homes.

“Reflecting on the year in totality would be nothing without a special mention to our wonderful partners, the Crusaders, and their incredible achievement in winning the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific competition,” Harvie-Teare said.

“What a season underpinned by grit, determination, and an ultimate showcase of team performance. It was a very special moment to see them farewell finals rugby at Apollo Projects Stadium for the last time. We can't wait to see them run out under the roof at One NZ Stadium in April 2026.”

The full Venues Ōtautahi 24/25 Annual Report is available on its website.