MEDIA RELEASE
15 January 2015
For immediate release
For your viewing pleasure, the 2015 SCIRT World Buskers Festival is now open!
Artists, dancers, comedians, burlesque and circo-arts performers from around the globe have descended upon Christchurch
for the 2015 SCIRT World Buskers Festival opening today!
Since its early days on the central city streets of Christchurch, the festival has grown to become one of the largest
and most popular street performance festivals in the world, attracting around 300,000 attendees per year. The festival
will run from 15–25 January and is set to host 41 of the world’s best street performers at Busker Park in North Hagley
Park and a range of other venues across the city.
This year marks the 22nd year of Christchurch’s annual festival and the first for new festival director, Glen Pickering.
Pickering says, “I’m thrilled that the 2015 SCIRT World Buskers Festival is now open! As the new director, watching this
event come alive has been exhilarating. The festival is committed to bringing Cantabrians world-leading entertainment,
and the team has worked hard to ensure the city gets another fantastic buskers festival. With shows tailored for kids
and grown-ups and a mix of daytime and after-dark performances, the festival has something for everyone.”
This year’s top acts include The Vaudevillians from the US, fresh from a sold out Broadway run; recent Royal Variety Performance stars The English Gents from the UK; Kiwi crowd favourite The Boy with Tape on his Face and fantastic local acts Mr & Mrs Alexander and Promise & Promiscuity. For a full line up, please visit www.worldbuskersfestival.com.
North Hagley Park will be the main base for the 4th year running and offer food, licensed vendors and corporate hosting
at the SCIRT Busker Comedy Club. This year also marks the return of the festival to its former home with the More FM
Market Square pitch at the central city Arts Centre, as the centre rebuilds following the Canterbury earthquakes.
Performances will also be held across the city including the Ryan Security Buskers at Brighton at the New Brighton
Basketball Courts; the Popsicle Busker Kid Pitch at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens; The Press Club, Buskers Boutique
and Old Boy’s Theatre at Christ’s College; Lane Neave Music Pitch in the Botanical gardens during the week and Re:START
mall on weekends; Mashina Lounge at the Christchurch Casino and The Bedford at CPSA on the CPIT Campus.
The opening of the festival marks the start of an exciting year for events in Christchurch that includes the Cricket
World Cup and Christchurch Arts Festival.
To beat the queue and book seats and view the full programme visit: www.worldbuskersfestival.com.
ENDS
2015 SCIRT World Buskers Festival
15-25 January 2015