New Delivery Partner for City’s Iconic Festival

HooHa Productions has been selected, after a rigorous selection process by ChristchurchNZ and an external panel, as the new curator and delivery partner of Ōtautahi Christchurch’s World Buskers Festival in 2025. Since 1994, the festival has created a legacy of over 30 years of street performance and ticketed acts, packing out iconic busking locations like Cathedral Square and The Bridge of Remembrance as well as sell-out shows in the Isaac Theatre Royal and the Christchurch Town Hall, to name a few.

HooHa Productions were awarded the delivery rights based on their exceptional approach to the future of the festival showcasing Māori and Pasifika arts and culture, an innovative evening programme of ticketed circus, cabaret and comedy, and a community-focused program of workshops, masterclasses, educational programmes building a platform for aspiring performers and the wider community for years to come.

HooHa Productions have decades of experience with Festival Director Pitsch Leiser and Commercial Director and International Curator Drew James, two of New Zealand’s most experienced festival producers and directors. Most recently Leiser has been the Director of the Hawkes Bay Arts Festival and James has been Chief Executive of Creative Capital Arts Trust and Founder/Director of CubaDupa, New Zealand’s largest outdoor street arts festival. Together, as HooHa Productions, they bring a wealth of experience, networks, and creative vision to the World Buskers Festival.

They are joined by Event Manager Beth Elstone, who has managed some of New Zealand’s most iconic concert and festival events such as Bay Dreams, Church Road Winery Concerts and Christchurch’s Single Fin Mingle.

“With leadership roles at international events including WOMAD, to large scale events like Te Matatini, Auckland’s Pasifika Festival, Cuba Dupa, and many regional music and arts festivals the breadth of knowledge, experience, networks and capability we have gained as team, positions us well to reimagine Ōtautahi Christchurch’s World Buskers Festival,” says Leiser.

“We are passionate about the future of outdoor arts in Aotearoa and really excited about the opportunity to further develop and grow Ōtautahi Christchurch’s World Buskers Festival as a major national and international event over the next few years.”

“We want to continue to feature the best in the world, and work with our outstanding artists and communities here to create something wonderful and unique, that will be accessible to everyone. Ōtautahi Christchurch has embraced the World Buskers Festival for over three decades, and there is a strong energy and optimism for the future, as a modern city that celebrates and values how people experience the arts and play together,” adds Leiser.

“I look forward to moving to Ōtautahi Christchurch and engaging a local team to deliver a successful World Buskers Festival with the support of local artists, business and community, with creativity and inclusion at the heart of it,” he says.

After five years under the Bread & Circus moniker, a new brand is currently being developed to reflect the renewed vision and strategy for the major event. Drawing on its legacy and international reputation as well as propelling it into the future as an unparalleled arts culture and street festival, ChristchurchNZ’s Head of Major Events Karena Finnie says the festival is a summer staple in Christchurch events calendar.

“The World Buskers Festival has a special place in the city’s cultural fabric, injecting colour and energy into our public spaces and activating our central city during the summer holidays,” says Finnie. “Additionally, any visitor to the city will delight in the entertainment on offer and we look forward to expanding its appeal internationally,” concludes Finnie.

Announcements regarding the 2025 festival dates, international and local acts, new busking sites and the ticketed schedule will be made shortly.