Have your say  |  25 Mar 2024

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Events contribute significantly to the city by bringing communities together, attracting visitors, stimulating economic activity, and raising our city’s profile nationally and internationally.

Last year we supported 93 community events with funding, and attracted over 24 major events and 42 business events to the city. 

The key players 

Christchurch City Council, ChristchurchNZ and Venues Ōtautahi have complementary roles in relation to major events in Christchurch. 

  • Christchurch City Council supports and/or delivers a variety of local and regional events, often in partnership with the community. We also provide regulatory support, approval, and compliance functions (such as traffic management planning) for all events. 
  • Venues Ōtautahi is owned by the Christchurch City Council. They attract events for the sites they operate, such as the Christchurch Town Hall. They also plan and deliver events. 
  • ChristchurchNZ receives funding from the Council to build and manage the city’s major events portfolio.  

The Council is also investing in infrastructure, such as Te Kaha – Canterbury's Multi-Use Arena, Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre, and Naval Point – Te Nukutai o Tapoa, to ensure we can host world class events in Christchurch.  

There are opportunities to grow existing events and attract new events to the city. This would require additional funding. 

Our preferred option 

Our preferred option, which we’re proposing in the Draft LTP, is to spend $4 million on events. This includes $1.2 million for the Council to continue producing community events like Sparks and Tīrama Mai (Christchurch’s Matariki celebration), and to support community events through funding. This grant funding will increase to $1.7 million in 2028.   

Under this option, ChristchurchNZ will receive $15.9m funding from the Council in 2025, of which $1m is allocated to major and business event bid funding. This funding is proposed to increase to $19m in 2028 (including $2.4m for events bid funding) and progressively increase to $20.6m (including $4m for events bid funding) by 2030.  

There would be no change to our proposed rates increases in the LTP. 

The risk of not including additional funding for the first three years of the plan is that Christchurch may be less likely to attract as many major and business events. 

Alternative option 

Christchurch competes with other cities in New Zealand and around the world to attract major international sports, business and music events through event bid funding. Examples of these include SailGP, Electric Avenue, and business events such as the UN World Adaptation Science Programme Adaptation Futures Conference in 2025. 

We are seeking feedback on whether we should provide additional event bid funding for major and business events. The option would include: 

  • an additional $2.8m for 2024/25 which would require a 0.42% rates increase. 
  • an additional $3.3m for 2025/26 which would require a further 0.04% rates increase. 
  • an additional $4.5m for 2026/27 which would require a further 0.14% rates increase. 

Additional funding would enable us to attract more major and business events. These events would utilise the infrastructure we’ve invested in, and the city can enjoy the entertainment and economic benefit that these types of events will bring.  

The return on investment is estimated at an average of $67 million a year for our retail, hospitality, and accommodation businesses. This would equate to $670 million for the 10-year LTP. 

We’re asking for feedback on these options. Visit ccc.govt.nz/longtermplan to have your say.