What's on in Auckland 2017 events calendar

Auckland will host a diverse range of cultural, lifestyle and sporting events in the coming year, from the inaugural MCKAYSON New Zealand Women’s Open featuring Lydia Ko, to the award-winning Matilda The Musical and the return of the Volvo Ocean Race Auckland Stopover.

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), on behalf of Auckland Council, is sponsoring 26 events in 2017/18. That includes 16 events that successfully applied for sponsorship through the annual contestable funding round.

New to Auckland’s Major Events Portfolio are the LPGA-sanctioned MCKAYSON New Zealand Open, the EQUITANA equestrian showcase and inaugural NZ Flower & Garden Show, while one-off major events include the Rugby League World Cup 2017 and the Volvo Ocean Race Auckland Stopover.

In its contestable funding round, ATEED received 31 applications requesting a combined value of almost $9 million, with approximately $900,000 of sponsorship funding available for the 2017/18 financial year.

Since Auckland’s Major Events Strategy was approved by Auckland Council in 2011, ATEED-sponsored major events have contributed $247 million to the regional economy and 1,548,000 visitor nights (from 2011/12 FY – 2015/16 FY).

Mayor Phil Goff says, “Major events make our city an exciting and interesting place to live. They bring in hundreds of thousands of visitor nights every year and boost the Auckland economy. There are some exciting events planned for Auckland including the Rugby League World Cup and the NZ Flower & Garden Show.”

ATEED Head of Major Events Charmaine Ngarimu says major events – defined by their scale and projected benefits – are recognised the world over as a way to deliver significant social and economic outcomes for cities and their populations.

‘Auckland’s major events celebrate our local culture and creativity, entertain our people, attract new visitors, provide unique experiences and generate economic activity.”

“The World Masters Games 2017 and DHL New Zealand Lions Series are the most recent examples of how events can be used to promote what is special and unique about Auckland as an attractive place for talented people to live, visit, work, study and invest.

“WMG2017 successfully showed visitors from more than 100 countries our place, our people, our hospitality and our culture, while thousands of Aucklanders took part as athletes, spectators and volunteers, and we hosted more than 34,000 international and domestic visitors for the Series, which is expected to generate $26.7 million for the Auckland economy.”

•  Aucklanders keen to keep up to date with major events can sign up to the What’s On in Auckland Facebook page.
•  ATEED is looking for volunteers keen to help out with its cultural festivals and fan events. To find out more information, go to https://volunteernet.org.nz/event/auckland-major-events.

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