One of the most popular events on the Kiwi Christmas calendar, Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park has been cancelled for the first time in 26 years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The iconic free outdoor Christmas concert, dubbed ‘the nation’s favourite Christmas party’, annually attracts a massive live audience as tens of thousands of Kiwi families and friends pour into Christchurch’s Hagley Park and the Auckland Domain to celebrate the start of the festive season.

Bringing an event the size and professional caliber of Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park to the big stage requires months of planning and preparation. Given this and the resulting uncertainty of how major events will be treated in New Zealand, the decision was made to pause CCCITP in 2020.

“Given the immense amount of planning and work involved in Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park, we’ve had to make the sad decision to postpone until next year due to the current uncertainty of COVID-19 restrictions around large public events,” says Annette Chillingworth from Coca-Cola NZ.

Although production for this year’s event has hit pause, organisers are now looking towards 2021 with plans for the iconic event to return to the big stage bigger and more spectacular than ever.

Since the first concert in 1994, Coca-Cola NZ has raised millions of dollars for New Zealand charities through Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park and for the last fourteen years have partnered with Youthline to help support over 35,000 young people every year.

“To support our charity partner Youthline during these difficult times, we have donated an additional $100,000 this year given their important role for NZ communities. On top of this, we will continue to work closely with Youthline and look at more ways to support their people and their work in 2020,” says Ms Chillingworth.

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