2022 ASB Polyfest Starts Tomorrow

The world’s largest Māori & Pacific Island festival, the ASB Polyfest gets underway tomorrow at the Manukau Sports Bowl in a different format than we are used to seeing. The current COVID-19 setting means that the crowds and stalls will not be present this year, but the large stages will be, with hundreds of Auckland students set to grace them throughout the week.

Students will perform traditional speech, song & dance on these stages in front of ASB Polyfest judges only this year, with family and friends able to watch these performances live online via the livestream coverage supported by ASB.

In looking ahead to the four-day event starting tomorrow, ASB Polyfest Event Director – Seiuli Terri Leo Mau’u said – “despite the challenges, we have had overwhelming support from students, schools and parents to go ahead with this year’s event in the livestream format.”

In describing how this year’s ASB Polyfest will operate, Leo-Mau’u said - “there will be no live audience, no sponsor activations or stalls at the venue. Students will come in by bus, perform in front of the judges, and hop back on their buses straight after they perform. While it will be different without the crowds, it’s about providing a safe place for our kids to perform this year.”

When asked about the importance of this year’s event, Seiuli Terri Leo Mau’u said – “ASB Polyfest allows students to celebrate and express who they are through their language and culture – which is important for their sense of wellbeing, especially after the past two years of lockdowns and interruptions due to the pandemic.”

Over the next four days, 68 performing groups from 28 schools will compete in speech, song and dance on the following stages - Cook Islands, Māori, Niue, Samoan, Tongan, and a Diversity stage. These performances will be livestreamed free of charge to audiences at home via links on the ASB Polyfest website.

ASB Head of Community, Sponsorship and Events Mark Graham is looking forward to the 2022 festival, getting underway tomorrow saying - “The festival is a highlight on the calendar for us at ASB, and we’re delighted that this year’s event is able to go ahead safely. We’re proud to be supporting the livestream coverage enabling friends, family and the public to celebrate ASB Polyfest at home, and to cheer on the performers from wherever they are in the world. This year we’ve also introduced an ASB Shout-Out website for people to leave messages of support for the performers to help them feel the love and support of their whānau, friends and school alumni watching from home.”

The 2022 ASB Polyfest festival starts tomorrow at 10:45am with an array of performances on the

Unitec Diversity Stage

from groups such as Fijian, Indian, Kiribati, Tahitian, Tibetian & Tuvaluan.

© Scoop Media