New Zealand festival expands to two days

New Zealand’s biggest one-day festival Electric Avenue is expanding to two days for its 10th anniversary edition next year.

Staged by local production company Team Event, the festival will take place in Hagley Park, Christchurch, from 21-22 February 2025.

First held in 2015, the event has grown to attract 35,000 attendees, with this year’s lineup headlined by The Chemical Brothers, Six60 and Spaceshifter. With the expanded format, organisers hope to draw in excess of 60,000 punters over two days.

“By comparison, next year’s festival will be the equivalent of this year’s one on steroids,” festival director Callam Mitchell tells The Press. “This year, the entire city sold out weeks in advance and because next year’s line-up is so strong the problem is going to be worse.

“Also, as our profile has grown internationally, interest has grown among the artists who now really want to perform here – hence the reason for wanting to celebrate our 10th birthday with a bang.”

“Electric Avenue also doubles as an opportunity to showcase our local talent alongside international acts”

Economic development agency ChristchurchNZ contributed NZ$200,000 (€109,000) towards the costs of the 2024 event, which generated $6.3 million in visitor spend, according to the group.

“When we invest in events it’s to develop them to become internationally significant, so this is a prime example,” says Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger. “Electric Avenue also doubles as an opportunity to showcase our local talent alongside international acts. It’s such a bonus the event itself is homegrown too.”

The 2025 line-up will be revealed next month and is expected to star around 20 international acts and 40 local artists across four stages.

Tickets to this year’s festival cost $199, and organisers have vowed to keep the costs of 2025 tickets down at “around 30% higher than the average price of a one-day ticket sold for this year’s event”.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Read More Like This

News|15 Apr 2024

New Zealand festival to ‘take a break’ in 2025

"It looks like it's going to be a really tough year for festival promoters," say Splore Festival organisers

News|08 May 2024

Capacity increase for New Zealand’s Spark Arena

The Auckland venue recently hosted concerts by Jonas Brothers, Queens of the Stone Age, SZA, Blink 182 and Fred Again..

News|29 May 2024

Rock in Rio sells out four days in two hours

Hundreds of thousands of tickets have already been sold for the Brazil festival's landmark 40th edition this September

News|17 Jul 2024

Australia’s Promise Village axed days after on-sale

The new festival was due to take place in Perth with international headliners Jorja Smith, J Hus and Headie One

News|09 Apr 2024

South Africa’s Calabash festival expands, secures stars

Robbie Williams and Green Day have been revealed as Calabash South Africa's headliners for the festival’s second edition, set for January 2025