Christchurch music festival Electric Avenue breaks visitor spend record held since 1974 Commonwealth Games
The city was at 98% occupancy from Thursday through to Saturday.
Festival Director Callam Mitchell said it was phenomenal to be compared to an international event such as the Commonwealth Games.
'Inflation may have contributed to that comparison, but, you know, we'll take it nonetheless.'
He said they wanted the festival to move to a two-day event for a few years.
'So to pull it off and have 40,000 people through the gates each of the two days is incredible.
'And just to see the way the city embraced it, the whole city came alive.'
Mitchell said, essentially, 60% of their audience came from outside the city.
'We've got a big role to play now and just keep building on the success that we've carved out over the last 10 years.
'It's a lot of pressure, but pressure that we welcome nonetheless, and it's a big responsibility to deliver an event on the scale of knowing what it means for the city.'
ChristchurchNZ head of major events Karena Finnie said this year's festival certainly resulted in the biggest visitor spend this decade.
'We could potentially go as far [as] to say that it was the biggest since the 1974 Commonwealth Games, but willing to be corrected on that; we'll wait and see.'
She said it eclipsed other recent events, such as the 2019 Phil Collins concert ($5.8m), 2023 Sail GP ($4m) and Riccarton race week ($3m).
Electric Avenue's 2025 event drew 22,848 visitors to Christchurch, with people staying an average of 2.75 nights.
'We can confidently say that the majority of these visitors stayed in paid accommodation, and we believe that hotel occupancy was close to 100% that weekend,' Finnie said.
'So, on average, each visitor spent close to $459 during their weekend stay here in the city. That's excluding ticketing costs and everything like that.'
Mitchell said there were always little improvements to make for next year, to ensure the event becomes bigger and better.
'We're working pretty hard to have a line-up together for September, and all going well, we'll be able to announce some dates in a couple of weeks.'
Christchurch Star.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman buy Australian sailing team
(L-R) Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman attend the "It Ends With Us" New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 06, 2024 in New York City. Photo: Cindy Ord / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP Hollywood co-stars and close friends Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have been named the new co-owners of Australia's SailGP team. The actors, who starred together in Deadpool & Wolverine, announced on Thursday, US time, they had purchased the successful team, which has won three championships in just four seasons. In a joint statement, Reynolds and Jackman said they were "incredibly excited to set sail together in this new adventure". "Hugh brings a deep love for and pride in his home country as well as being an avid fan of sailing," the statement said. "He will also be bringing his overly clingy emotional support human along for the ride. "Apologies in advance to Australia. "No comment on whether we're writing this in our BONDS. No further questions." This is the latest sports venture for Reynolds, who purchased Wrexham AFC - one of the world's oldest soccer clubs - alongside fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney. They chronicled their 2021 purchase and subsequent stewardship of the club in wildly popular Disney+ docuseries, Welcome to Wrexham. The club has gone on to achieve incredible success, becoming the first team in English football history to achieve three consecutive promotions, climbing from the National League to the Championship. Reynolds and McElhenney were also among a group of investors in the Alpine Formula One team in 2023 and were part of an investment group that acquired Colombian club La Equidad this year. Reynolds and Jackman join driver and chief executive Tom Slingsby in rebranding the Australian team as the BONDS Flying Roos, with underwear company BONDS as its title partner. Slingsby, an Olympic gold medallist, told the ABC that Reynolds became interested in the purchase after members of his team attended several SailGP events. "They pitched it to Ryan, saying, 'Hey, this is a pretty cool sport - maybe we should come check it out and get involved'," Slingsby said. "Sure enough, they looked into it a bit more and they were interested in buying our team. So it all went from there." He said the actors would bring "star power" and a "storytelling ability" to the sport, but would not be drawn on whether a docuseries like Welcome to Wrexham was on the horizon. The rebranded team is now preparing for its debut at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, kicking off Saturday, local time. "There no better way to cap off an amazing week for us than winning the event," Slingsby said. "I'm a sailor at heart, and that's my main focus - trying to win events for Australia. That's what we've got to try to do this weekend." - ABC
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
ActorsRyan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman buy Australian sailing team
(L-R) Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman attend the "It Ends With Us" New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 06, 2024 in New York City. Photo: Cindy Ord / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP Hollywood co-stars and close friends Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have been named the new co-owners of Australia's SailGP team. The actors, who starred together in Deadpool & Wolverine, announced on Thursday, US time, they had purchased the successful team, which has won three championships in just four seasons. In a joint statement, Reynolds and Jackman said they were "incredibly excited to set sail together in this new adventure". "Hugh brings a deep love for and pride in his home country as well as being an avid fan of sailing," the statement said. "He will also be bringing his overly clingy emotional support human along for the ride. "Apologies in advance to Australia. "No comment on whether we're writing this in our BONDS. No further questions." This is the latest sports venture for Reynolds, who purchased Wrexham AFC - one of the world's oldest soccer clubs - alongside fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney. They chronicled their 2021 purchase and subsequent stewardship of the club in wildly popular Disney+ docuseries, Welcome to Wrexham. The club has gone on to achieve incredible success, becoming the first team in English football history to achieve three consecutive promotions, climbing from the National League to the Championship. Reynolds and McElhenney were also among a group of investors in the Alpine Formula One team in 2023 and were part of an investment group that acquired Colombian club La Equidad this year. Reynolds and Jackman join driver and chief executive Tom Slingsby in rebranding the Australian team as the BONDS Flying Roos, with underwear company BONDS as its title partner. Slingsby, an Olympic gold medallist, told the ABC that Reynolds became interested in the purchase after members of his team attended several SailGP events. "They pitched it to Ryan, saying, 'Hey, this is a pretty cool sport - maybe we should come check it out and get involved'," Slingsby said. "Sure enough, they looked into it a bit more and they were interested in buying our team. So it all went from there." He said the actors would bring "star power" and a "storytelling ability" to the sport, but would not be drawn on whether a docuseries like Welcome to Wrexham was on the horizon. The rebranded team is now preparing for its debut at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, kicking off Saturday, local time. "There no better way to cap off an amazing week for us than winning the event," Slingsby said. "I'm a sailor at heart, and that's my main focus - trying to win events for Australia. That's what we've got to try to do this weekend." - ABC
1News
5 days ago
- 1News
'If I can't beat him, I should retire' - Nyika's next opponent named
David Nyika will make his comeback from his devastating knockout loss against Jai Opetaia six months ago against Nik Charalampous — an Aucklander who today described the Kiwi Olympian as "overrated". The man known within New Zealand boxing circles as "Nik the Greek" said that for effect in a press conference today but will almost certainly believe the opposite. The 32-year-old Charalampous, a fulltime boxing coach who has a 23-6-2 record as a professional and went the full 10 rounds against the now cruiserweight world champion Opetaia six years ago, is too experienced to truly think that. "I've known David for a long time," Charalampous told 1News. "We've done heaps of sparring over the years. We know each other very well. It would have been nice to have been given 10 weeks' notice for the fight, but I have been consistently training so my body is ready to go into that next gear." ADVERTISEMENT Charalampous, a father of a 12-year-old daughter and 17-month-old son, last week signed off on the fight, to be on the undercard of the Sonny Bill Williams v Paul Gallen main event grudge match in Sydney on July 16. His last fight in a high-profile event was on the undercard of the Nyika v Tommy Karpency main event in Auckland in September last year. Charalampous's opponent was former All Black Liam Messam and the result was a draw, but he arrived out of shape at 107kg and there is no doubt he will take this assignment against a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist far more seriously, albeit at catchweight. (He is likely to tip the scales at around 95kg, with Nyika likely to make the cruiserweight limit of 90.72kg.) Nik Charalampous knows the odds are against him. (Source: Photosport) His defeat by decision in Sydney to Australian-Samoan Opetaia — widely considered the best cruiserweight in the world — remains one of his best achievements in the ring. "I just remember before the fight watching the highlights of him knocking everyone out," Charalampous said. "I was pretty nervous… I'm happy I lasted the 10 rounds with him. I'm not going to be a world champion or anything but when I talk to my grandkids or people I train with, I can say I fought some of the best of my generation." ADVERTISEMENT For his part, Nyika, who was viciously knocked out in the fourth round by Opetaia on the Gold Coast in January after taking the world title fight on short notice, left no doubt about his goal. "If I can't get past Nik I should probably retire," Nyika, now 10-1 as a professional, said. "It won't be an easy fight. I know what Nik is capable of and how much trouble he's given the top guys. For me, it's very much an opportunity to prove what I can do. If I can't stop Nik, it won't be a success for me but, if I lose the fight, it makes it a very hard comeback. "My eyes are still set on the world title and that re-match with Jai… the setback is just another ingredient to the stew. We have so much further to go. "It's not easy to come back from a loss and this was a big loss. This is my livelihood and a big part of my identity today… it's a big step towards the ultimate goal of becoming a world champion." Charalampous, who recently took several of his boxers to Golden Gloves success, is a classic journeyman comeback opponent for a world-class fighter who has suffered a setback. His relatively late signing is also an indication that few potential opponents were willing to sign on for the money on offer, but promoter David Higgins today said he thought Charalampous would do his job well. ADVERTISEMENT The initial plan was for Nyika, who revealed recently to 1News that he couldn't remember being knocked out by Opetaia in the IBF world title fight, to make his comeback on the Gold Coast this month. "Nik is tough," Higgins said. "He's very durable – he's never been put down by a punch. He's very experienced and is used to being on the big stage." Nyika's trainer Noel Thornberry thought the same. "David needs rounds – he's never been past five rounds and Nik could be the one to provide them," he said. "There's no time like ring time."
