16 Mar 2022

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Organisers of the 2022 Bread & Circus – World Buskers Festival in Ōtautahi Christchurch have made the difficult decision to cancel it.

The festival, which had already been pushed out from January, was scheduled to go ahead from 22 April to 1 May 2022 as an open-air event in Victoria Square and The Commons.

However, the Omicron outbreak has now forced festival organisers, Strut & Fret, to make the call to cancel.

Scott Maidment, Strut & Fret Director and Festival Director, said the event could only take place under the Orange or Green setting on the COVID-19 Protection Framework.

New Zealand is currently at the red setting.

“We had great expectations for the event after the festival reimagined itself in 2021 to deliver an incredibly successful ‘Backyard Buskers Festival’ celebrating the local industry,” Mr Maidment said.

“While we are incredibly disappointed not to be able to deliver a festival in 2022, we can’t wait to get stuck into planning the 2023 return of Christchurch’s beloved event and celebrating our 30th anniversary.”

He said the arts and entertainment industry “have been battling internationally for the past two years”.

“Unfortunately, this well-loved event has also been claimed by COVID-19 in 2022, but we look forward to bringing a revitalised version of this excellent event back to Christchurch in 2023.”

Karena Finnie, ChristchurchNZ Head of Major Events, said ChristchurchNZ supports the Government’s health-lead approach to COVID-19, and in the interest of public safety would wait until January 2023 to present the Buskers Festival.

“We have worked hard to bring Bread & Circus to Ōtautahi Christchurch this year but ultimately the current Omicron wave across New Zealand has made it impossible”, Ms Finnie said. “We look forward to hosting the 30th anniversary of the World Buskers Festival in 2023.”