Monumental milestone for Christchurch Town Hall

The Christchurch Town Hall has celebrated a significant milestone, surpassing 750,000 guests and 1,000 events since the venue reopened.

The iconic heritage building, operated by Venues Ōtautahi on behalf of the community, reopened in February 2019 after it was restored following significant damage suffered in the 2011 earthquake.

The 750,000-guest mark was reached at the Dire Straits Experience in October 2024. The milestone follows the venue celebrating its 1000^th event since its reopening when it hosted the National Young Leaders Day event in June.

Venues Ōtautahi Chief Executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said the volume of guests who have enjoyed the Christchurch Town Hall over its lifetime and now since its restoration pointed not only to the significance of the building to the region but also underpins the importance of the city's fight to retain the building.

“The Christchurch Town Hall is the city’s living room,” she said.

“It really is at the heart of the city. Its heritage goes back to 1972 and there isn’t a person in this city who hasn't grown up with a memory from this incredible venue. Its celebrated, not only because it has gorgeous architecture, but it has the most renowned acoustics in the Auditorium. It is a place people connect with, people love, and it is iconic for every single reason you can imagine.”

Christchurch City Council Mayor Phil Mauger said he loved attending events in the restored building.

“The Town Hall is such an incredible venue and the number of guests attending events there since reopening in 2019 is testament to this,” he said.

“Our city is so lucky to have such a multi-functional venue in the heart of the city and I’m sure it will continue to provide so many lasting memories for everyone who attends an event there.”

The Christchurch Town Hall features five key spaces: the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium, James Hay Theatre, Limes Room, Avon Room, Victoria Room; along with the main foyer area which features three bars and an espresso bar.

Following an eight-year post-earthquake hiatus, the building was officially reopened with anchor tenants the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra performing during the ceremony in 2019.

The first official event post reopening was Ōtautahi band Shapeshifter who performed in front of 2,200 people in the Auditorium.

Since then, the Town Hall has been a hive of activity with the venue hosting an average of 250 events each year – noting this was reduced during the Covid-effected 2020 (104 events) 2021 (141 events) years. It hosted 286 events in the 2023/24 financial year.

Over the past six years, anchor tenants the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra have been the venue’s most regular performers, putting on 59 shows.

Christchurch Town Hall Venue Manager Barry Jackson said the venue was a favourite for touring artists.

“Something that makes the Town Hall special is the sense of being surrounded by the audience. You’re in a large room - 2000 people - but you're immersed in the experience. It’s what's beautiful about the Town Hall, the audience encompasses the space.”

With so many events at the venue, there’s been a glittering array of standout moments at the venue.

Harvie-Teare had a long list of highlights, but attending the premier of film Maurice and I earlier this year held a special place in her heart.

“It is a film about Warren and Mahoney, but actually celebrates the Town Hall, one of their iconic architecture pieces,” she said. “People came out of the film crying, laughing which just reminded me ‘this is the most incredible place and thank goodness we saved it’.”

For Jackson, Jack White in 2022, Teddy Swims this year, many of the school kapa haka competitions and the spectacular Maia Health Foundation gala dinners were some of the events which stood out for him.

While ticketed events from touring bands, performances and comedians get the spotlight, the venue is a favourite for many business and private functions. Since its reopening, it’s hosted 21 expos, 276 conferences and conventions, 217 breakfasts, cocktail functions or dinners and 17 weddings.

There’s also been 180 community events, supported by Venues Ōtautahi, featuring performances from schools and community groups, prizegiving’s, graduations and fundraising events.

Jackson said it was those community events when the heart of the venue really shines through.

“The community events are special. The local community come into this space, and they feel a genuine sense of ownership. When I think about the fact we nearly lost it, it is those events where you really see the value for the city of Christchurch. There is nothing quite like the Christchurch Town Hall.”

A key feature of the Christchurch Town Hall’s reopening has been its commitment to serving up the best locally sourced food and beverages.

“In 2020, we ended our long-term catering partnership which outsourced all our catering,” Harvie-Teare said.

“This meant we could choose where we procured all our food and our beverage. That's important to us because Canterbury has the most wonderful produce in our country. It meant we could celebrate this on a plate for all our guests. This is at the heart of who we are, supporting local businesses, supporting local suppliers, and supporting local producers.

“We now procure 80% of our food and beverage from the Canterbury region, contributing around $2million every year in direct economic benefit to those local suppliers and producers.

“We love it. That's who we are. It's 100 percent what we should be doing as a city-owned, community-focused business and we couldn't be prouder of not only the positive regional impact from events at the Town Hall, but what from all the Venues Ōtautahi venues.”

The celebration of Waitaha Canterbury continues to place the Christchurch Town Hall as one of the jewels of the city. And with the venue having just completed its second busiest month of the calendar year, it appears plenty of people agree, “there is nothing quite like the Christchurch Town Hall”.