Chch City Council finalises events funding
< Chch City Council
finalises events funding Supporting success,
acknowledging sport's role in attracting visitors, and
concentrating support are themes in this year $B!G (Js round
of major festivals and events funding by the Christchurch
City Council. This week the council finalised its funding
in this area for the coming year and will invest about $1.6m
directly in support of 13 externally managed proposals and
six which are run from within the council. Festivals and
events contribute strongly to the city's cultural, economic
and social life. Surveys show spending on them has a strong
multiplier effect economically, they attract visitors,
contribute to the good impression people living in other
parts of New Zealand have of the city and many are
consistently mentioned in surveys of citizens when asked
what they like about living in Christchurch. Mayor Garry
Moore says, "One thing which makes us feel really good about
this city are the number of free events which we can attend
as ratepayers. The mix of events produces entertainment for
just about every sector of our community and I'm delighted
that the council has continued its commitment to these
community events." The successful external events are the
World Buskers Festival ($220,000, up $20,000), the NZ
International Jazz Festival ($85,000, up $15,000), the
Festival of Flowers ($100,000, down $20,000), Savour New
Zealand ($45,000, up $15,000), The Body Festival of Physical
Theatre and Dance ($20,000), Canterbury Fashion Week
($85,000), Christchurch Arts Festival ($152,000, up
$39,000), SCAPE 2006 Biennial of Art in Public Space
($54,000, up $14,000), Christmas in the Park ($51,000), Le
Race ($20,000, a new grant), Lyttelton Mid-Winter Festival
of Lights ($10,000, up $4000), French Festival ($30,000, up
$24,000), Coast to Coast 25th Anniversary ($20,000, a new
grant), the Christchurch Primary Schools $B!G (J Cultural
Festival ($10,000) and the Banks Peninsula Community Event
Fund ($6000).
The two sports events - one the original
kiwi multi-sport endurance race and the other a cycling
festival between the central city and Akaroa - are new to
the programme, while the Akaroa French Festival has had its
support increased by 400 per cent, or $24,000. The arts and
buskers festivals also benefit from substantial increases,
up $39,000 and $20,000 respectively. The cello and writers
festivals are in their off years and so did not seek
funding. The council events to be funded are
SummerTimes ($446,665), KidsFest ($70,000), Fireworks
($42,000) the Antactic Festival ($60,000) and New Zealand
Cup and Show Week ($71,300). Christchurch City Council is
in the middle of a review of its events strategy. Events
development manager Jo Naish says this year's funding round
reflects key themes emerging from talks with interested
groups and organisations, including a need to consolidate
effort on successful events and to provide support for
visitor-focused sports events and those on the
peninsula. Ends