This year's sold-out Electric Avenue festival which was attended by nearly 90,000 people across two days, resulted in visitor spend of almost $14 million, an economic impact report from FreshInfo shows.
This eclipsed the $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 in February saw the addition of the Electric Stage in the northernmost corner of Hagley Park, and featured acts like Kesha, Dom Dolla and a reunited Split Enz.
Said team event managing director Callam Mitchell: “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.”
Electric Avenue now sits comfortably alongside the world’s great urban 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.
The festival’s economic benefits were a boon to accommodation providers, with the city at 98% 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%, the highest reported February from the last decade and well above the national average for February 2026 of 88.9%
"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,” Mayor Phil Mauger said. "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."
Electric Avenue attendees loved the event, with 95% of event attendees reporting being satisfied or very satisfied with their event experience and 95% 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. Jazlyn Whales of the NZ Herald wrote the most memorable moments were the quieter ones, outside the headliners.
“Lying in the grass with friends between sets, shoes kicked off and music drifting across the park felt just as much a part of the experience as standing shoulder to shoulder in the main crowd. Even with tens of thousands of people on site, there were pockets of calm where you could simply relax with friends, laugh, debrief a set and watch the afternoon roll into evening — Electric Avenue’s appeal also lies in its atmosphere.”
Electric Avenue is not only Christchurch’s favourite party, it is also beloved across the country and beyond, with 56% of event attendees coming from outside of Christchurch, with attendance growing from Australia and the UK.
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,” says Finnie.
