New venue for Auckland Lantern Festival 2022

Auckland Showgrounds to host New Zealand’s largest cultural festival

Auckland’s popular Lantern Festival will be held at a new venue next year.

The popular Chinese New Year festival is set to take place from 10-13 February at the Auckland Showgrounds, a venue chosen after a region-wide search.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says Auckland Lantern Festival is one of the city’s best-loved cultural events.

“After missing the Auckland Lantern Festival for two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic it will be fantastic to once again celebrate our city’s Chinese communities and culture at the new location at Auckland Showgrounds,” he says.

“Cultural festivals like the Lantern Festival help make Auckland a vibrant and exciting place to live, and I’m looking forward to joining with Auckland’s Chinese community to celebrate the Year of the Tiger in 2022.”

Auckland Unlimited, which delivers the Auckland Lantern Festival, says the Auckland Showgrounds was selected as the best venue for the festival for a range of reasons.

“We are excited to welcome the Year of the Tiger with a roar and we know the community and Aucklanders will be looking forward to it too after two years missed,” says Auckland Unlimited’s Chief Executive Nick Hill.

“The Auckland Showgrounds is a fantastic venue that can comfortably host large, ticketed events and has big indoor and outdoor spaces, and offers our team the creative licence to develop a spectacular festival,” says Hill.

Chinese community leaders with a long association with the festival support the move to the new venue.

Further details about the 2022 festival will be announced in the coming months.

With a venue confirmed, the festival is also now seeking applications for retail, craft, food and information stalls at the festival. Applications for stallholder sites close Friday 22 October 2021.

The move to the Auckland Showgrounds comes after Ports of Auckland announced in June it would not host events over the 2021-2022 summer season due to operational constraints.

The Auckland Lantern Festival is delivered by the region’s economic and cultural agency Auckland Unlimited, on behalf of Auckland Council, with founding partner Asia New Zealand Foundation.

About the Auckland Lantern Festival

Celebrating Chinese culture and Auckland’s Chinese communities, the Lantern Festival will be the headline event for Chinese New Year celebrations in February.

The popular family friendly festival sees hundreds of elaborate handmade Chinese lanterns on display, cultural song, music, and dance performances, craft demonstrations, sponsor activations and competitions, retail and food stalls, and a fireworks display.

The 2021 festival was to be held on Captain Cook and Marsden Wharves but was postponed and then cancelled due to changing Covid-19 Alert Levels at the time. In 2020, the festival was also cancelled due to mounting concerns of Covid-19.

The festival was held at the Auckland Domain, 2016 – 2020, and Albert Park prior to that.

Auckland Lantern Festival is delivered by Auckland Unlimited, on behalf of Auckland Council and in conjunction with the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

www.aucklandnz.com/auckland-lantern-festival-2022

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