HAKA Recognized By BBC As One Of 2024’s Happiest Stories

The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the World’s Largest HAKA was reclaimed from the French on September 29, 2024, when more than 6,500 people gathered at Eden Park to bring the mana of this cherished record back home to New Zealand.

The event, which raised funds for the Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust, has been recognised by the BBC as one of the 'Happiest Stories of 2024,' placing it alongside global milestones such as the reopening of Notre Dame and the "People’s Olympics" in Paris.

“Being recognised by the BBC brings even more global attention to the HAKA as a powerful celebration of our national identity,” said Deborah Pead, founder of Pead. “This acknowledgment is also a tribute to the incredible team of people who turned Dame Hinewehi Mohi’s vision into a reality.”

Pead credited a host of contributors for the event’s success: “It took an army to make this happen, including Extended Whanau, BallyHoo Events, Cornerstore, UFO Rodeo, Inside Out Productions, the Eden Park Trust team, Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and a host of volunteers, led by Dame Hinewehi and Pead. Remarkably, all agencies donated their time to honour the significance of this record to New Zealand.”

Pead concluded: “The fact that the French held this record for ten years is a conversation for another day, but it feels deeply gratifying to see this record restored to Aotearoa – the true home of HAKA.”

Listen to the BBC segment at 22:22 here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0kcnj0v.

About Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust

The Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust was established in March 2004 by singer Dame Hinewehi Mohi, who named it after her daughter, Hineraukatauri who has severe cerebral palsy. Hineraukatauri and thousands of other New Zealanders, have found a way to express themselves through music therapy. RMTT services are delivered via a clinical practice rooted in the humanistic model of music therapy which recognises each individual client’s uniqueness and worth. Their mission is to work with any person in need, to enrich and develop their lives through music.

Nā Puoro, ko taurikura / Music transforms us.

www.rmtc.org.nz

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