The Christchurch City Council (CCC) has chosen New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) as its media partner to support the Council’s hugely popular SummerTimes event series.

The CCC has a swathe of events in the planning across Ōtautahi from December through until February and will partner with NZME’s multiple brands, platforms and partnerships to draw the Christchurch community together to celebrate all the city has to offer.

“We are thrilled to be working with NZME on bringing an epic line up of events to our residents and visitors to Ōtautahi Christchurch this summer. We are in the final stages of planning and look forward to announcing more about what’s in store very soon.” said Tanya Cokojic, Christchurch City Council Events and Art Manager.

NZME’s powerhouse media brands, including the New Zealand Herald, Newstalk ZB, ZM, The Hits, Radio Hauraki and Coast will get Cantabrians out to play over the summer following the CCC’s successful Winter Series.

“We’re excited to once again partner with the Christchurch City Council and OMD Christchurch to help bring the SummerTimes Events programme to life. The winter series was absolutely amazing, which saw Ōtautahi Christchurch lit up for Tīrama Mai and the Matariki Fireworks were nothing short of spectacular,” said NZME South Island Head of Agency Matt Bowness.

NZME has signalled growth in the South Island as a key strategic focus for the business and recently bolstered its leadership team with Ben Harris joining as General Manager last month and Bowness moving to head NZME’s agency team based in Christchurch.

This follows the expansion of NZME’s team of Christchurch-based multimedia journalists working across the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB news operations along with the appointment of John MacDonald to host the local Newstalk ZB show “Canterbury Mornings”.

“Right across New Zealand, a big part of NZME’s role is to support our local communities,” said NZME Chief Revenue Officer Paul Hancox.

“To have strategic partnerships with a great organisation like the Christchurch City Council to help them deliver vibrant, fun and community focussed celebrations like SummerTimes, is a real privilege for our local teams. Roll on summer!” said Hancox.

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