Christmas in the Park is the title given to annual free music concerts held in cities across New Zealand during the Christmas season. The two largest Christmas in the Park events, held in Auckland and Christchurch since December 10, 1994, are sponsored by Coca-Cola. They draw up to 250,000 [1] and 100,000 [2] spectators, respectively. Coca-Cola refers to its Auckland Christmas in the Park production as the largest free annual event in New Zealand. [3] A combined total of six million New Zealanders have attended the Auckland and Christchurch events since their founding. [4] Activities include music, fireworks displays, and the lighting of Christmas trees. Each concert draws an estimated $100,000 for charity annually. [2]
The Aotearoa Music Awards, conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that a group or artist can receive in New Zealand music, and have been presented annually since 1965. The awards show is presented by Recorded Music NZ. A range of award sponsors and media partners support the event each year.
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with an urban park along its banks.
Lemon & Paeroa, often shortened to L&P, is a sweet, lemon-flavoured soft drink manufactured in New Zealand. The drink is considered Kiwiana, and was traditionally made by combining lemon juice with naturally carbonated mineral water from the town of Paeroa. Today, it is manufactured by multi-national Coca-Cola. The origin date of the drink is uncertain, but the brand estimates 1907.
Michael Sean D'Arcy Murphy is a New Zealand singer. He was runner-up of New Zealand Idol in 2004, behind Ben Lummis, who became his friend over the course of the contest.
The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who defeated France 8–7 in the final. The defending champions, South Africa, were eliminated by Australia 11–9 in the quarter-finals. The result marked the third time that the tournament was won by the country that hosted the event.
The New Zealand Cup is a thoroughbred horse race run at the Riccarton Park Racecourse in Christchurch.
Wolfbrook Arena is an indoor arena in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located in the suburb of Addington. It has gone through a series of name changes, the most recent of which prior to its current name having been Christchurch Arena.
Music festivals have a long and chequered history in New Zealand. The first large outdoor rock music festivals were Redwood 70 in 1970 and the Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival in 1973. The largest was the 1979 Nambassa festival, one of several Nambassa festivals held around that time, in Golden Valley, just north of Waihi.
Lavina Rose Williams is a New Zealand musical artist and musical theatre performer.
Brooke Howard-Smith is an entrepreneur, New Zealand broadcaster, television presenter and artist having most recently exhibited at 42 Below's space in Auckland.
Drew Ne'emia is a New Zealand television presenter and director. In 2022, he announced that his last name is Ne'emia, not Neemia, as had been previously used.
The New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) (Māori: Whānau Mārama) is a film festival held annually across New Zealand throughout the latter half of the year, starting in Auckland in July.
Canterbury Flames were a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007 they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2000 and 2002, Flames played in three successive grand finals. In 2004, they played in their fourth grand final. On all four occasions, they lost out to Southern Sting. In 2008, when the National Bank Cup was replaced by the ANZ Championship, Canterbury Flames were rebranded as Canterbury Tactix.
Formerly known as Auckland Festival, Auckland Arts Festival or Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Makaurau is an annual arts and cultural festival held in Auckland, New Zealand. The Festival features works from New Zealand, the Pacific, Asia and beyond, including world premieres of new works and international performing arts events.
Auckland is the most populous city of New Zealand and the fifth largest city in Oceania. It has an urban population of about 1,478,800. It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, and which has a total population of 1,739,300 as of June 2023. While Europeans continue to make up the plurality of Auckland's population, the city became multicultural and cosmopolitan in the late-20th century, with Asians accounting for 31% of the city's population in 2018. Auckland has the fourth largest foreign-born population in the world, with 39% of its residents born overseas. With its large population of Pasifika New Zealanders, the city is also home to the biggest ethnic Polynesian population in the world. The Māori-language name for Auckland is Tāmaki Makaurau, meaning "Tāmaki desired by many", in reference to the desirability of its natural resources and geography.
Vince Harder is a New Zealand R&B/pop recording artist and producer. He is most notable for the 2008 song "Everything" with P-Money, which reached number one in New Zealand on the New Zealand Singles Chart in 2008. In May 2010, he released the single "Say This With Me" which peaked at number 39 on the singles chart.
Massad Barakat-Devine, known mononymously as Massad, is a New Zealand pop musician. He co-hosted the TV2 show The 4.30 Show, along with Eve Palmer and ex-The Erin Simpson Show presenter Michael Lee.
Benjamin Tipene is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He is known for his appearance on the first New Zealand series of The X Factor where he was the last contestant eliminated Competing in the Boys category, he was mentored by Ruby Frost. His debut single "Walking on Water" was released on 29 July 2013 and debuted at number two on the Official New Zealand Music Chart and was certified platinum.
Christmas traditions in New Zealand—like those in Australia—incorporate traditional Christian, British and North American Christmas traditions, including biblical and winter iconography, as well as modern and local customs. As New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, the holiday falls during the summer months, so it is often celebrated outdoors with barbeques, picnics, and trips to the beach. New Zealand Christmas dishes include summer fruits and vegetables, a variety of locally-produced meats and seafood, and pavlova dessert. Pōhutukawa are displayed as well as the traditional Northern European tree. Christian church celebrations are held on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with carols and hymns sung in both English and Māori.