Things to do  |  22 Jan 2020

Bread & Circus World Buskers Festival rolls back into Christchurch this week to deliver a fresh spectacle.

Featuring some of the world’s best street performers and cabaret shows, several events have nearly sold out while all tickets for the Buskers Brewery Tour have already gone.

Pop-up venue The Spiegeltent will again take centre stage this summer, hosting shows from 23 January.

Many international and local acts will also take to the central city streets until 16 February.

The festival swings into action with international circus-cabaret act Blanc de Blanc on Thursday night.

Extra shows have  been added to keep up with the demand for the vintage glamour.

A few days later, German cabaret star Sven Ratzke brings the songs of David Bowie alive in The Spiegeltent with Where Are We Now.

Among this year’s other headliners are comedy star Cal Wilson, Japan’s Gamarjobat, festival favourites Daredevil Chicken and Miss Behave and musical acts Shades of Bublé, Britain’s Flo and Joan and the Modern Māori Quartet.

Festival galas will also be in the spotlight at the Isaac Theatre Royal, while dining event Feast of Fools will offer fresh treats. Tickets are selling very fast for the galas and the feast, along with Deacon the Vampire Live, Buskers Bingo and Blanc de Blanc.

Roving buskers and busking pitches will reappear at several popular city spaces, including Cathedral Square, the Bridge of Remembrance, Market Square and Scott Statue Reserve.

Scott Maidment, director of Strut & Fret, says the buskers have started arriving in town and he can't wait to see the new busking ptich at the Bridge of Remembrance come alive.

"News of the festival is spreading far and wide – Christchurch even got a mention on CBS news in America on Sunday! This year’s Bread & Circus is shaping up to be a big one,'' Mr Maidment says.

Tickets are available online.