New records have been set for Christchurch's Electric Avenue, which has become one of the city's biggest festival assets.
The sold-out Electric Avenue festival, which generated a new record of close to 90,000 attendees across two days, resulted in a visitor spend of almost NZD 14 million, according to an economic impact report from FreshInfo.
This eclipses the NZD 10.5 million spent in the city by Electric Avenue festival goers in 2025 when the event first expanded to two days. This year’s event held 27th and 28th February saw the addition of the Electric Stage in the northernmost corner of Hagley Park, and featured the NZ exclusive acts like Kesha and Dom Dolla, as well as the debut of a reunited Split Enz.
“Electric Avenue 2026 built on the success of our two-day expansion and took the festival to another level. The expanded footprint, new stages, improved site flow and amenities, focused heavily on the overall guest experience,” said Team Event Managing Director Callam Mitchell.
Electric Avenue now sits comfortably alongside the world’s great urban destination festivals, an experience built around premium programming, atmosphere, and a uniquely central city setting, which Mitchell said was reflected in the 32,000 tickets already sold for 2027 without a single artist yet to be announced.
Electric Avenue attendees loved the event, with 95 percent of event attendees reporting being satisfied or very satisfied with their event experience and 95 percent of resident event attendees saying that hosting events like Electric Avenue makes Christchurch city a more enjoyable place to live.
Reviewers also raved about the festival, talking to the broad appeal for all ages, as well as the energy across the stages.
Electric Avenue is not only Christchurch’s favourite party, it is also beloved across the country and beyond, with 56 percent of event attendees coming from outside of Christchurch, with attendance growing from Australia and the UK.
The festival’s economic benefits were a boon to accommodation providers, with the city at 98 percent occupancy and the central city abuzz from Thursday through to Saturday. Electric Avenue generated 79,990 visitor nights with an average stay of 2.98 nights. In February, Christchurch’s hotel occupancy rate was 96.4 percent, the highest reported February from the last decade and well above the national average for February 2026 of 88.9 percent.
"Christchurch is firing on all cylinders. Visitors from far and wide are here in force, spending in our city and experiencing everything we have to offer,” said Mayor Phil Mauger.
“We're delivering superbly, and we're just getting started. Christchurch is cementing its place as New Zealand's events capital, and that's something every resident can be proud of."
Investment in the festival has continued to improve the experience, including its expanded footprint of 45 acres. Producing the two-day event takes a two-week pack-in, 2500 employees, six kilometres of fencing and 700 toilets. Festivalgoers partied to more than 60 acts across six stages across the new expanded site, featuring the new Electric stage and the expanded Cosmic Palace.
ChristchurchNZ Head of Major Events Karena Finnie said it was exciting to see the city’s homegrown festival set new records and looks forward to its continued development and improvement.
“Now firmly the largest festival in Australasia, Electric Avenue brings so much more than big acts to Ōtautahi. It brings a buzz and excitement to the streets, shows off our incredible, vibrant city to visitors from around the world and gives us an opportunity to show young adults and students why Christchurch is such a livable destination. Electric Avenue is firmly a summer staple now, and this city is made for it.”
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