Rotorua wins bid to stage 2015 national brass band champs

Rotorua has won a bid to host one of the country’s largest competitive music events, the 2015 National Brass Band Championships.

The event is to be based at the Rotorua Convention Centre from 8 to 12 July with up to 28 brass bands participating from across New Zealand, including some from Australia

The event includes competition in four band grades, and will also feature a spectacular street march on Friday 10 July. Another highlight will be the coveted Champion of Champions competition in the Civic Theatre on the Saturday night [11 July].

Rotorua District Council’s Creative Communities Strategy portfolio lead, Councillor Glenys Searancke, said a record number of bands was likely, with three top grade bands from Australia already indicating they were keen to travel to Rotorua.

“We’re expecting somewhere around 700 bandsmen to descend on our city for at least four days, along with a large number of officials, families and supporters – potentially several thousand people all up. Many bands are so keen to come here next year they’ve already booked their accommodation.

“This is a huge event for Rotorua and it’s going to provide a welcome boost to our local economy, especially at what is traditionally a quieter off-season time of the year. It’s good news for our key Rotorua 2030 priority goal of attracting new activities that bring real economic benefit to our district. This year’s 2014 national champs were in Invercargill where the local newspaper headline was “Brass bands have city tills ringing.” So we’re expecting even more of the same here in Rotorua next year for our local accommodation operators, restaurants and retailers.”

Mrs Searancke, who is also president of Rotorua Brass, said she was “absolutely stoked” that Rotorua’s bid had been successful. She said the council’s Events & Venues team had helped put together a compelling and professional bid, which was presented in Wellington by Waikato/Bay of Plenty Brass Band Association president Stephen Clayton.

“The feedback I received was that there was overwhelming support for Rotorua’s bid; the key reasons being that this is a great place for bandsmen and their families, that we’re an easy place to get to and we offer a superb range of accommodation.

“The national competition is going to be a massive logistical exercise. However we’ve already received generous offers of volunteer help from a number of organisations, like Rotorua Musical Theatre who rely on local brass players to support their major productions. It’s really great to see different organisations working together for the common benefit of Rotorua.

“With this sort of support, Rotorua’s experience in hosting big events, and the well-known hospitality of our local people, we’re going to deliver four magic days that will be the envy of other cities - and that Rotorua will be very proud of. Roll on July 2015,” says Mrs Searancke.

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